


Moments in time

by CPD_rookie



Category: Chicago PD (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:41:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 76,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27431413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CPD_rookie/pseuds/CPD_rookie
Summary: A series of Upstead one-shots set after the season 6 finale
Relationships: Jay Halstead & Hailey Upton, Jay Halstead/Hailey Upton
Comments: 7
Kudos: 89





	1. Comfort

**Author's Note:**

> I've already posted most of this over at ff.net but given how broken it's become I've decided to cross post here before I put up the latest chapter.
> 
> In regards to the one-shots, I took 14 random prompts from a site and have been writing a chapter for each (except two which I split because they got so long). Originally they weren't going to be related and I was going to jump about timeline wise but then it seemed more fun to have them follow on in some way but with jumps in time. The only important thing to know is that this starts right after the season 6 finale and that season 7 as we know it doesn't happen, but Rojas still joins and Antonio leaves. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy :)

The knock at the door wasn't completely unexpected even if it was past midnight. Hailey had put it at a ninety percent chance given the events of the day, and she couldn't say she was disappointed when she opened it to find Jay, looking happier than she had expected, holding a case of beer in one hand and a takeout bag in the other.

"Please tell me you haven't eaten yet," he said as he walked past her; they were beyond asking permission to enter these days, "because if you have, I ordered way too much."

"I have not," she said, closing the door and following him into the kitchen.

She had managed to shower and change into sweats since she returned home, but that was about it. Hailey knew she should eat something, she hadn't had anything since breakfast, neither of them had. But even with that knowledge and the smell of chicken noodles coming from the bag Jay had just dropped down onto the side, she couldn't stop thinking about the past eighteen hours.

The day had started off so well, but then the van, the hail of bullets, Adam being arrested and Kelton's death…Hailey wasn't sure if it could get much worse. Yet when she looked over to Jay unpacking the takeout boxes, she had a flash of the day he was shot, the day she thought he might die.

"Hey." Jay was holding a beer out to her, looking far more concerned than he had before. "You okay?"

"Tired," she said as she reached out and took hold of the bottle, but Jay didn't let go. Instead he continued to stare at her, he knew it was more than that. "We could have died today."

She left out should have, but she had seen the state of the van after they climbed out. If any of those bullets had been a couple of inches lower…it was something of a miracle they left unscathed. And Hailey knew she had Jay to thank for that. He had worked out what was happening before she had and pulled them to the ground. A few seconds later and it would have been a different story, that much Hailey was sure of.

"We're still here," Jay said as he finally released the bottle to her, "and neither of us is going anywhere anytime soon."

"Until they break up the unit," she muttered as she took a swig of beer.

It seemed Jay had heard her given the frown on his face. She hadn't meant to kill the positive vibe he had entered her place with, but she needed to vent. It was their thing after all, talking through the bad bits, but maybe there was something more there today given the way Jay was looking at her, just as he had earlier in the break room. She wasn't sure she was ready to push him on that topic yet though. They were both exhausted, she just wanted to sit down for a bit, focus on the most important parts; Kelton's murder and Adam's arrest.

"Come on," she said, setting her beer down on the side and nodding to the couch; the food and drinks could wait. Jay seemed hesitant but set his beer down and followed a few steps behind her.

Hailey was about to ask if he had heard anything from Voight or Antonio, the fact that both of them had pulled the disappearing act was making everything worse right now, but before she even got the first word out, she heard the sound. A gunshot.

Her muscles tensed as she turned back to where she thought the sound came from, but then she was falling. Hailey grunted as her back hit the carpet; then the sound came again, but this time she could place it better. It wasn't a gunshot. It was a car backfiring. She should have known better but in her sleep deprived state she had mistaken it. As had her partner given the way he was lying protectively on top of her, surveying the area.

"Jay." She got no response; he was still looking off in the direction of the street.

"Jay." She tried again as his chest met hers. He was breathing almost twice as fast as she was, a focused look in his eyes, which meant he was still assuming the worst. She didn't want to startle him, worried that she might trigger a panic attack, but she had to get him back.

Slowly she reached a hand up and placed it on his left shoulder, but still she got no response. She called his name a few more times, trying to keep the worry out of her voice, as she gently squeezed his shoulder, but still she got nothing. It was only when she moved her hand to his cheek that he finally looked at her, tears in his eyes.

"It's okay, it was just a car."

He didn't speak but Hailey could feel his breathing returning to normal. She kept her hand on his cheek the whole time, wiping away the two stray tears that fell as he closed his eyes.

"We're okay," she repeated causing Jay to nod. "Gotta say that was not as soft a landing as the van."

"Shit, sorry," he said, suddenly seeming to realise their position. He started to move away but before he could get too far, Hailey rolled on to her side and pulled him back down next to her, a very similar position to how they had been lying earlier in the van.

"Jay, wait."

This was dangerous territory; she knew the lines between good friends and something more were starting to become blurred, but she also knew they both really needed this. Before Jay had a chance to say anything else, she shuffled a little closer and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him tight against her. Seeing him like that, with all the memories of the day, she could feel the tears forming in her own eyes and while she hated to admit it, she just really needed some comfort right now.

It took Jay a moment but then his arms were around her, holding her just as tightly as he had earlier that day.

"I'm not sure if I said it before, but thank you," she whispered.

"What for?"

"Saving my life." The whole day had been such a whirlwind, and she may have already thanked him, but she needed him to know. "Without you…"

"You've saved me enough times before," he said, pulling back a little until they were face to face. "I've always got your back. Just like I know you've always got mine."

"Always," she said as Jay brushed his thumb across her cheek removing some of the tears that had fallen. "I…uh we…we're partners."

Hailey saw the small smile on Jay's face before she closed her eyes and pulled him back into a hug. She had almost said something she wasn't sure she was ready to say, but she didn't want to risk making anything awkward. For now this was all she needed, and she was pretty sure Jay felt the same. So they stayed lying on the floor of her living room, silently holding onto the other, before drifting off to sleep.


	2. Tame

"I don't know about you, but I need a drink," Hailey said as she perched on the edge of his desk, "or several."

Jay dropped the pen down onto the report he was filling out and leant back in his chair, he already knew he wasn't getting anything else useful done tonight; the fact that he had been staring at the same few lines for the past ten minutes was enough evidence.

"Where to?" he asked, not that he cared. He had spent nearly every minute of the last week dealing with the fallout of Kelton's death, barely pausing to sleep or eat, let alone have any sort of social life.

"Well that depends. Are you allowed to leave now or-"

"God yes." He cut her off, gaining a laugh in response. Part of him wanted to stay, to keep pushing through the situation they found themselves in, but as a wise person had once told him, sometimes you had to take care of yourself.

"And there was me thinking being in charge was starting to suit you," she said, still not actually moving from his desk as he shook his head. "Being all responsible, rational-"

"Yeah, yeah. Can we get a drink now?" He just wanted to forget about everything else for one night; forget about Voight, Kelton, Adam, and Antonio. Forget that if he didn't fix everything, the unit would be split up, even more so than it was already. Forget that this might be one of the last times he worked with Hailey.

"Earth to, Jay." A hand flew past his eyes before landing on his arm. This was the most physical contact they'd had since he'd fallen asleep on her floor with her in his arms. Even though she'd complained solidly about sleeping on the floor for most of the following morning, it had been one of the best night's sleep he'd had in a long time. "What's going on?"

"Let's get out of here," he said, offering her a reassuring smile. Now wasn't the time, she would understand.

Hailey nodded, looking around the office and spotting Kev at his desk, just as Jay had a few moments ago, before turning back. "My place or yours?"

"I've got whiskey at mine. The good stuff," he told her as he finally stood up and grabbed his coat, letting her hand fall away.

"Should I say something about the fact that we're jumping straight to the hard liquor?" she asked as she mirrored his moves.

"I won't if you won't." And he knew she wouldn't, just like he wouldn't say anything about the fact that she hadn't even suggested going to a bar or inviting Kev.

"I'm feeling pizza, you?"

"Sounds good," he said as they walked out together, Jay pausing briefly to tell Kev to go home.

Kev was as desperate as the rest of them to find something to save his friends and get things back to normal, so Jay understood his initial resistance. However, after Hailey told him, with a tone which meant there was no negotiation, that she was driving him home now, he gave in. Jay wasn't quite sure what to say so he ended up squeezing her shoulder as she walked past him, gaining himself a smile in return. He really didn't know what he would have done without her support this past week. Anything he needed, she got done, no matter how hard or annoying it was.

The ride over to Kev's was mostly silent, aside from Hailey reassuring them that they were doing the best they could and that no one was giving up. And that sometimes they had to take care of themselves.

Jay wasn't sure how it happened, but by the time Hailey had dropped Kev off, he was starting to feel like they had a shot again.

"How are you so positive right now?" he asked a few minutes into their previously silent ride back to his place.

"Stops me giving up," she told him, briefly glancing over. Jay could see the tiredness on her face, the concern as she focused on the road. Clearly she was struggling as much as the rest of them, but forcing the positivity seemed to be helping. "Plus, I was promised the good whiskey. And I plan to take full advantage of that offer."

Jay let out a short laugh as she pulled up outside of his place. "So you're using me for drinks?"

"I offered my place, you chose yours," she told him as they headed inside. "And you offered the whiskey. Therefore, this is all on you."

"Uh huh. So just how much are we planning to drink?"

"How many bottles do you have?" she asked as Jay quirked an eyebrow. "Gotta keep the positivity somehow right?"

"Oh, so alcoholism is your plan," Jay said as he opened his front door and they stepped in.

"Don't worry," she said, patting his shoulder before shedding her coat and boots. "I'll get the pizza."

"So generous," he said, mirroring her previous moves and following her over to his couch where she was already making herself comfortable.

"You know me."

Jay nodded, a smile on his face as Hailey remained focused on her phone, sorting out their food order. He did know her, just as she knew him. It was why she hadn't asked him what he wanted to eat, she had his favourite memorised, just as he had hers. It was a small thing, but it was small things like this that were keeping him going right now.

After letting out a yawn, he forced himself to get up and fetch their drinks. Given Hailey's previous comments, he brought the bottle over along with the glasses. The less movement he had to do this evening, the better.

"And done. Won't be long," Hailey said as Jay handed her a glass. "Thanks. Think we both needed this."

"Oh yeah," he said as he retook his seat next to her and leant his head back against the couch. If she wasn't here, he was sure he'd be in bed already.

"You gonna pass out on me again?"

Jay let out another yawn before tilting his head in her direction. "Pretty sure you passed out on me first. I mean there was the drooling, the snoring, the-ow."

He stopped as she shoved his shoulder.

"Liar." She was grinning at him as he took a sip of his drink, but then her expression turned more serious. "So how are you doing?"

Jay had been hoping for a little longer of the light-hearted stuff before they got into this, but his clear tiredness was probably the leading factor.

"I'm okay. I mean everything that happened…I still can't quite get my head around it. I wish I could do more. I just wish they had told me sooner."

"No you don't."

"Hailey-"

"Jay, if they told you, you'd be exactly where Adam is now. I get having your partners back but what they did was stupid and…" she trailed off, sipping her drink. "You're not stupid."

Jay kept his eyes on her as she took a longer sip of her drink. It was only when she looked back up at him that she spoke again. "Why are you smiling?"

"I think this might be the most compliments you've ever given me in one day."

She shook her head slightly. "Yeah." She paused again, taking another sip. "Well sometimes you deserve it."

Her words had his grin getting larger. It wasn't the ideal situation, but just being with Hailey had him feeling better than he had the rest of the week. "Look I know everything is a mess, and maybe we should talk about it, but any chance we could just leave it tonight?"

It had been such a long time since Jay had thought about anything else, and he was sure it was the same for Hailey. If either of them was struggling more he would encourage talking about it, but right now they just needed to destress. Jay didn't care how; he would do anything Hailey wanted.

"Okay, but I'm still drinking most of that." She tilted her glass towards the bottle on the table before finishing off the remainder of her current drink as Jay let out a short laugh.

"Whatever you want," he told her as he picked up the bottle and refilled her glass.

"How about a movie?" she asked, crossing her legs and turning to face him. "That way I'll have something to do when you pass out, start drooling-"

"Funny," he cut her off as he leaned over and grabbed the remote, trying his best to hide a yawn.

Given the look on Hailey's face when he leant back and handed her the remote, he knew she'd seen him, but she didn't say a word. Instead she turned her focus to the TV as she flicked through the channels. Jay took the time to rest his eyes for a minute, letting out one more yawn.

"Jay. Hey, Jay."

Slowly Jay opened his eyes to find Hailey stood next to him. It was darker than he remembered, and he could smell pizza. "I fell asleep."

"Yeah. The snoring was a bit of a giveaway."

"I don't snore," he said as he rubbed at his eyes. Though in all fairness he might have started, it wasn't like there was normally anyone around to tell him.

Hailey laughed at his clear concern before handing over a pizza box. "I almost left you to it but thought you should eat something".

"Thanks."

"Anytime." She smiled as she took a seat next to him and dug into her pizza. "Now you're about thirty minutes behind, but it's Jurassic Park and if you haven't seen it before-"

"I have," he said as he sat up a little straighter and grabbed a slice of pizza, moving his eyes to the TV.

For the next twenty minutes they enjoyed the film whilst eating. Hailey was making comments about how she would deal with the situation which had Jay laughing, especially after he pointed out the flaws in some of her plans. She didn't seem to care though, as she continued to explain how she would survive.

Jay knew he was supposed to be watching the movie, but he couldn't stop himself from looking over to Hailey every couple of minutes. She was so happy, so pleased with her suggested plans to escape the dinosaurs, that Jay knew he was happy too. His emotions were so tied to her that it scared him sometimes.

"You're staring," Hailey said, as she turned to face him. Jay wasn't sure what he was going to say but then he saw her shiver.

"You're cold," he said, grabbing the blanket from the back of the couch and handing it to her.

"Well your place is freezing."

She unfolded it and lay it over herself before looking over to him. "You want some?"

"Uh, yeah." Hailey shuffled a bit closer and chucked the corner of the blanket over him. "Well at least my knee will be warm."

"You did say some and technically that is some," she said causing Jay to shake his head. She seemed so proud of herself, but she was right that it was cold.

He considered saying something for a minute before deciding to go with his instincts. He grabbed the corner she had left him and pulled until the blanket was covering him more than her.

"Hey," she protested, looking like she was going to steal it back but before she got a chance Jay put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer until the blanket was covering them both fully. He felt her stiffen for a second but then she seemed to relax against him.

Neither of them said a word but Jay could feel his heart beating a little faster than usual. He knew Hailey would likely feel it too, so he focused on his breathing. They were friends, good friends, and Hailey would have said something if she wasn't comfortable, but he was still worried he may have overstepped some boundary. Emotionally they had shared so much, but physically, this was something new for them.

The other week had been new too but there were so many raw emotions that day which they could use to explain it. Today was more like a normal day. Sure, there was still the looming issues with the whole unit but there had been no near-death experiences, no arrests, nothing traumatic, just frustrating detective work.

Jay bit his lip, trying to think of what to say, but then he felt Hailey's head against his shoulder and he realised that he didn't need to say anything.

* * *

"Morning," Hailey said as Jay let out a yawn. He could feel Hailey still leaning against him, her arm now wrapped around his waist under the blanket. "Well that was far tamer than I expected last night to be."

"Yeah," Jay said, forcing his eyes open. They were still on his couch and the two glasses of whiskey from last night, barely touched, along with the remains of the pizza were still on the coffee table. "At least there's no hangover."

"Good point. Guess we don't need the beer so much after all," Hailey said, not showing any signs of moving. Jay had no intention of doing so either. Instead he pulled her against him a little tighter, it was the most relaxed he'd felt since waking up on her floor. "Have to say the couch is a big step up from the floor."

Jay laughed along with her. "Does that mean you're not going to complain about it today?"

"I wouldn't go that far. Think the only way I won't complain is if I'm in a bed."

Jay had to bite his tongue so as not to say anything. He knew she hadn't thought through how her words could be interpreted but he didn't want to ruin the moment. Though it seemed as though someone else had plans for that as both of their phones started going off at the same time.

"Upton," Hailey answered before Jay could get to his. "What?"

She was already throwing the blanket off them as Jay managed to retrieve his phone from his pocket. "Halstead."

"Hey man." It was Kev. "We found something you need to see."


	3. Hurt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At this point I decided to mostly go along with what already happened early season 7 so Rojas has joined, Antonio has left, and the unit is back together.

"Well if it isn't my favourite detective," Will said as he walked into the room, a chart in hand. "Heard something about you running through a glass door?"

Hailey rolled her eyes; he was too cheery given her day so far. "More like I was run into a glass door by that idiot."

She indicated to the man in the room across the hall from her, the one currently being questioned by her partner; so much for the easy pick up she had been promised.

"Ouch," Will said as he looked her over, gently lifting her arm and examining the makeshift bandage wrapped around it. "Okay, well that will definitely need stitches. You hit your head?"

Her hesitation was enough of an answer for Will. "You know the drill; you lose consciousness at all?" Hailey shook her head carefully; it was still pounding. "Any dizziness? Any nausea?"

"She was dizzy at the scene before the ambulance came."

Hailey let out a sigh, so much for getting out of here quickly. Given that piece of information from her partner, her fate was sealed; she would be stuck here for the rest of the day.

"And you are?" Will asked, turning to face the woman now standing at the entrance of Hailey's room.

"Officer Rojas." Rojas extended her hand to Will who shook it. "I'm her partner."

"Partner," Will repeated before looking to Hailey. "What did you do to Jay?"

"Voight changed things up."

The past month had been somewhat crazy. Hailey was surprised that Will wasn't more up to date, but then she knew he'd had his own stuff going on. Jay had told her about the accident involving him and Natalie so maybe Jay hadn't wanted to burden him with everything happening in Intelligence.

Hailey was just thankful that Kev and Kim had found a lead which had taken them to the person who murdered Kelton. It took some time, but they had managed to clear Voight and Adam, and get the unit back together. Well almost. Antonio had decided to move on. It was a massive blow to them all, but they knew he had to do what was best for him. And it was leading to new opportunities, like Rojas.

"Well it's nice to meet you, and thank you for your honesty, really helps us give the best treatment possible to our patients," Will said, shooting a look at Hailey, before turning back to Rojas. "Anything else you can tell me which would help?"

"I don't think so. We chased the guy down; Detective Upton was about to arrest him when he just charged at her and they went through the door of the hair salon. He landed on her, but then I managed to get him and called the ambulance."

Hailey shifted slightly at the memory causing a shooting pain from her side. She tried her best to hide it but both Will and Vanessa saw it.

"He landed on you?" Will asked, stepping back over. "Best to lead with these things, Hailey. Lie down, I need to take a look."

As much as she didn't want to, she followed his instructions and allowed him to lift her top to reveal the large purple mark spread across the right-hand side of her ribs. Carefully Will examined her, causing her to wince anytime the smallest amount of pressure was put on the bruised area.

"Okay, I think we better get some x-rays, make sure nothing is broken. You want something for the pain?"

"Please," she said, doing her best not to show how much it hurt, though Will seemed to see straight through her act.

"You need to rest and let us take care of you," he told her, the jokey tone from before was gone, he was in full on doctor mode now. Hailey gave a short nod in response; she would do what she had to. "You want me to call anyone for you?"

One name came to mind straightaway. The name of the person who would have been with her had this been a week ago. The person who wouldn't have let this happen had they still been partnered. Not that she blamed Rojas, she was still learning, but the guy had made her before they got close enough to take him quietly, and then it had spiralled. Hailey wasn't certain, but she just had a feeling that had it been her and Jay, things would have gone differently.

"Hailey?" Will asked.

She couldn't change things now. What was done was done and she had told Voight to bring Rojas in because she could see the detective Rojas could become. This was on her. She would be more cautious going forward, step up what she was teaching Rojas, and stop taking some things for granted.

"I'm good," she told him.

"Okay, I'm going to get you something for the pain and then we'll get those x-rays done. I won't be long."

As soon as he was gone, Hailey leant her head back and closed her eyes. She wished she could be at home without all the fuss; she had survived worse before, though she knew it would be stupid to leave now. Will was just doing his job and Rojas…

Hailey immediately opened her eyes, remembering that Vanessa was still in the room. "You get a location for the meet?"

"Yeah, I called Voight about it. He said I should stay with you and update him. The rest of the team will handle the deal."

As much as she didn't want to miss out, even Hailey would admit that she wasn't in any shape to help them. "Good work on getting the location."

Rojas gave a short nod, looking somewhat guilty. "What should I have done differently? You know with the takedown, to stop him? To stop you getting hurt?"

Hailey couldn't help but smile, this was why she had stuck her neck out for Vanessa. She wanted to learn, she was dedicated, and she had good instincts most of the time. All Hailey had to do was help refine them, but she wasn't in any state to teach right now given the throbbing headache she was currently battling with. "We'll go through it later."

Rojas took the hint and grabbed a chair, pulling it up to sit next to Hailey. They sat in silence from then on, Hailey doing her best to take Will's advice and rest until he walked back into her room.

"Bit of a queue for the x-rays, but I can at least ease the pain."

"Thanks, Will," Hailey said before closing her eyes.

Once the drugs kicked in, she found the thudding in her head finally went away so she could think clearly. All she really wanted to do was sleep though, but people kept coming to check in on her, take her for x-rays, and make sure she didn't have a concussion. Rojas stayed quietly with her throughout it all as she had been instructed to, even though Hailey told her that she could go.

"Well do you want the good news or the good news?" Will asked as he entered her room. Hailey didn't bother to answer with anything more than some eye contact, he was still too cheery. "You know you're more fun when there's tequila involved. Remember Kim's birthday? The karaoke?"

"Okay, the good news?" she asked, not liking how much he was sharing with Rojas at this point in time. Because yes, she had offered to let Vanessa stay with her but that didn't mean there shouldn't still be some boundaries.

"No broken bones and no glass in that." Will pointed at her arm, offering her a smile, before pulling on some gloves. "Still needs stitches though. You ready?"

"Can't wait."

"That's the spirit," Will told her before launching into a story about how he had managed to get a similar wound once when he was a kid and had been messing around with his brother and some kids from the neighbourhood.

Hailey was sure she had heard it before, but Rojas hadn't and given her curious nature she ended up quizzing Will about his past. Not that Will seemed to mind. He was more than happy to share something with the new officer as Hailey watched on. She just wanted to get out of here.

"Now that is some fantastic stitching if I do say so myself," Will said as he finished up.

"That mean I can go now?"

"Not quite yet, I need to keep you under observation for that head injury. Nice try though," he told her as he pulled off his gloves. "You know they say doctors make the worse patients, but between you and Jay, I think I can make a case otherwise."

"Just because we're tougher."

Hailey couldn't help but smile as she heard Jay's voice. She hadn't asked for him to be called but since Rojas had kept the unit up to date, she figured it was only a matter of time until he turned up.

"Oh, so nice of you to join us," Will said, turning to face his brother as Hailey met Jay's eyes. She could see the concern fading as he looked her over. "Please tell me you're not injured too?"

"All good," he said, briefly looking to his brother. Yet before he managed to say another word, Rojas was standing up and walking over to him.

"Did you get the crew? Was it the right place?"

"Uh yeah, we got them. Everything went to plan," Jay explained, glancing over at Hailey, before looking back to Rojas. "You know you should head back now, write up your report. I'll make sure she stays here."

"She can hear you," Hailey said, gaining a smile from Jay.

"Okay," Rojas said, turning to Hailey. "If you need anything-"

"I'll let you know."

Rojas seemed happy enough with leaving her and started to head out before turning back to Will. "Thank you, doctor uh…"

"Halstead, but you can call me Will."

"Halstead?" Rojas had clearly just put it together. "As in-"

"I'm unfortunately related to this one, yeah," Will said, putting his arm around Jay, who seemed less enthusiastic about what was happening.

"My annoying older brother," Jay explained, shrugging him off. "Who I'm sure has other things to be getting on with."

"For now, I'll be back in a bit though," Will said, before looking to Rojas. "Let me show you out, teach you a trick on how to handle this one."

Hailey watched Jay as the others left. He looked like he wanted to say something to Will, but in the end he didn't bother, though he still waited until they were definitely gone before walking over to her and assessing her again.

"You okay?" he asked, clearly looking for the head injury Will had mentioned. "Voight wouldn't say much aside from you were in Med and it was nothing serious."

"Well I've been better," she told him, though the truth was this was the best she had felt all day. "Tyler ran me through the door of a hair salon."

"How did that happen? It was supposed to be an easy pick up."

"He got spooked, made a run for it. We cornered him, were about to arrest him, and he tried a different tactic."

"You didn't draw on him?"

Hailey took a moment to consider her words. "He wasn't armed. I had the cuffs out and the next thing I know, I'm flying through a glass door."

Jay nodded, though the expression on his face told her everything she needed to know. He was angry for not being there, angry at Rojas for not having her back, for letting her get injured.

"Jay, I'm okay," she told him, trying to focus his mind away from where it was clearly going.

It took a while, but eventually he dropped his head slightly and let out a long breath. "Anything I can do?"

"Break me out of here?"

That got a smile out of Jay. "What does Will say?"

"No broken bones, arm is all stitched up," she said, holding up her arm for him to see. "Just the whole potential concussion thing that requires someone to check on me every hour. Aside from that I'm in perfect health."

"Okay," Jay said before turning and walking out of her room.

Hailey almost said something but decided to wait it out. Jay would be back soon, though she wasn't sure if he was actually going to break her out. While she knew he could relate, given how bad a patient he was, she doubted he would risk her safety. Not that she would either. If she really thought it was serious, she would stay, but she knew what it was like to be seriously injured and this was not as bad as the other times.

"So," Will started as he came back into the room with Jay, who looked far too pleased with himself. "I hear you don't want my company anymore?"

Hailey couldn't help but smile as she spoke. "Nothing personal."

"Yeah, well I have some conditions for letting you go," Will said as Hailey nodded. She would agree to anything at this point if it meant she got to go home and not spend the night here. "First, you have to stay with someone and that someone has to check on you every hour. Luckily for you, Jay has volunteered for that duty. Second, if you feel dizzy, nauseous, you can't remember things, or there is anything to suggest that something isn't right, you come straight back here."

"Deal," she said instantly.

"Okay then, let me get the paperwork," he said, before turning to look at his brother. "I mean it, Jay. Anything happens, you call me and bring her back in."

The smug look on Jay's face vanished as soon as Will got serious with him. Jay wasn't one to take this lightly. "I will."

That seemed to be enough for Will who disappeared without another word. Jay on the other hand stayed where he was, clearly thinking through the situation until Hailey called his name.

"I owe you one," she said once she had his attention.

"Partners, right?"

"Yeah."

They weren't officially anymore, but Hailey knew that deep-down they always would be. It didn't matter if one of them got moved or they couldn't work together, they would always have each other's back, and they would always be there for the other.

Both of them seemed to reflect on what was left unsaid until Will came back to discharge her and provide her with some painkillers. Hailey thanked him for all his help before leaving with Jay, all the while doing her best not to show him that her ribs were still providing some considerable pain. She didn't want him worrying so she moved the conversation to the gang they had been tracking and the bust.

Jay seemed content with filling her in as he drove them back to his place. It was an unspoken decision he made which Hailey only realised when they passed the familiar streets, though she had no intention of mentioning it. She was grateful she didn't have to explain the situation to Rojas, who would assume she was staying at the hospital. For now, she could just focus on resting without being around anyone. Well, aside from Jay, but if there was anyone she would accept seeing her like this, it was him.

"I grabbed your overnight bag from your locker by the way," he said as he parked the car.

Hailey hadn't even thought about it, she had just been so focused on not having to stay in the hospital.

"Thank you," she said as she got herself out of the car.

Not for the first time she saw the concern on Jay's face as he watched her, but he didn't say a word. Instead he just grabbed her bag and moved over to unlock the door. It took Hailey longer than she liked but she made it there herself and she knew it wouldn't be long until she wouldn't have to move again.

"Come on," Jay said, placing a hand on her shoulder and guiding her through his flat after she finally made it inside. The man seemed to be so focused on the task at hand that he didn't notice her amusement when she realised he was directing her to his bedroom. It was only after he had closed the blinds, turned on the bedside lights, and placed her bag of clothes on top of his bed that he turned back to face her. "What? Will said you had to rest."

She did remember, but she had assumed it would be another night on his couch, not here.

"Don't worry, I'll take the couch, but I still have to wake you up every hour, ask some questions, make sure you're still all there." He tapped his head, causing Hailey to shake hers.

"I'm fine," she said as she moved over to her bag and unzipped it, pulling out a spare top. She really couldn't wait until she was out of her current clothes, though part of her wished she had her pyjamas here.

"You can borrow some sweats if you want," Jay told her, apparently realising that while she had some spare clothes in her bag, she probably didn't want to change into another pair of jeans.

"That would be great." Hailey knew it was going to be hard enough changing out of her current clothes given her ribs, so at least it would be easier to get the sweats on.

Knowing that she may as well get started, Hailey carefully sat down on the bed and began to remove her boots. It was as hard as she had predicted so she wasn't surprised to see the concern on Jay's face once she was done and he was handing her the grey sweats.

"I'll um, I'll go get you some water," he said before backing out of the room and closing the door.

Hailey appreciated the space so she could get changed. She knew she could have asked for his help if she wanted, but she had to do this herself. She just had to prove that she was still independent after what had happened. Jay got that, she had seen him after he had been injured, wanting to prove a point to himself and she was the same. If she had gone home to Rojas, who was already feeling guilty, she had no idea what it would be like. Whereas with Jay, well Hailey knew exactly what she would get with Jay.

It took her a lot longer than she wanted, and there was some muttered swearing throughout, but eventually Hailey managed to change her clothes and pack the dirty ones away into her bag. Lifting the bag and trying to put it onto the floor ended up being a mistake though as Hailey underestimated how her ribs were doing and ended up dropping it with a curse.

"Hailey, you okay?"

"Yeah," she said, placing the hand of her uninjured arm to her side. "Just dropped the bag. You can come in."

Almost instantly he opened the door and walked in, carrying a glass of water. It took Hailey a moment before she was ready to face him seeing her like this, but when she finally locked eyes with him he was smiling.

"Ribs?" he asked as he walked over and placed the glass on his bedside table.

"Yep." Before he had a chance to ask her how bad it was, she lifted her t-shirt, allowing him to see the darker purple mark. It was just easier at this point.

Jay stared for a few seconds before Hailey dropped her shirt back down. "That looks like one hell of a hit."

"It's not great," she admitted as Jay leant around her and pulled back the covers on his bed.

"Get in," he told her as she bit back a smile. "Come on, Will said to rest so-"

"I know," she said before carefully climbing into his bed.

As soon as she was in, he pulled the covers up over her causing Hailey to let out a small laugh. "What?"

"Never thought you would be tucking me into bed."

"Well you know, special occasion," he said, taking a seat next to her on the bed.

Acting on instinct, Hailey reached out and took hold of his hand. "Thank you. I really do appreciate it."

Jay squeezed her hand gently, his thumb brushing along her skin. "Let's see how you feel when I wake you up every hour."

Hailey just smiled up at him. She would still be grateful for everything he was doing for her.

"You should get some rest," Jay said as he let go of her hand and started to move away but Hailey kept hold. It was a risk, but she was willing to take it.

"There's enough space. If you want something better than the couch."

Jay seemed to contemplate it for a moment before giving a short nod. Hailey knew she didn't need to say anything more, so she let go of his hand, allowing him to retreat from the room. A few minutes later he returned, having changed into sweats and a t-shirt. He was careful as he climbed into bed beside her, and he made sure not to get too close given her injuries, so again Hailey found herself reaching out to take hold of his hand.

For a moment she thought he had already fallen asleep, but then he intertwined his fingers with hers and spoke, his voice not much more than a whisper. "I'm sorry I wasn't there."

Hailey gripped his hand a little tighter before speaking. "You're here now."

And that, as far as she was concerned, was all that mattered.


	4. Brother

"Remind me again…why I said…yes to this?" Will got out in between breaths as he bent over, his hands on his knees.

"Because it's good exercise. Aren't you supposed to be promoting good health?" Jay asked as he jogged on the spot next to his brother.

"There's good health," Will said, motioning to himself. "And then there's stupidity." He motioned to Jay, causing Jay to laugh.

"Don't think you can claim good health when you're in that state after 10k."

Will waved him off. "Go do a lap, I need a break."

"Fine." Jay jogged backwards a bit, earning an eye roll from Will, before he turned around and carried on along the path.

Given everything going on in their lives recently, they hadn't spent much time together. While they kept up to date with the occasional text, they only realised that they hadn't spoken properly for almost a month when Hailey ended up in Med the other week. Since then, they had made sure to set aside more time for each other.

It had started with beers the day after Hailey was injured. Jay had almost bailed on his brother, but Hailey had insisted, and reminded him that Rojas would get concerned if she disappeared for too long. As much as Jay had wanted to stay with her, he knew he needed to catch up with Will. His brother had been injured not so long ago and clearly still had some unfinished business with Natalie. It had taken a few beers for Will to admit how he really felt about Natalie and his concerns regarding Philip. Jay had listened, let him vent, and tried to offer some advice before Will had changed the subject.

Jay tried to steer the conversation away from his personal life but apparently his feelings for Hailey were obvious to Will because he kept prodding Jay about Hailey, and Voight's changes. As much as Jay tried to downplay it, Will didn't believe that Jay was ok with the current partner situation. Which, maybe he did have a point about, but it was a good opportunity for Hailey and Jay couldn't screw that up for her. It wasn't easy, seeing her go out into the field with someone else watching her back, especially after the Med incident, but he trusted her judgement and they still saw each other.

In fact, he was going to see her later today after his run with Will. She was still on medical leave and had text him that she was bored. He had managed to swing the day off with Voight and had promised her an afternoon of entertainment after he caught up with his brother.

With the thought in mind, Jay pushed on harder. The sooner he was done with this, the sooner he would get to see her. He hadn't seen much of her since the night he had looked after her at his. Since Rojas had moved in with her, he had avoided going over, not wanting to intrude, but Rojas would be at work now so they should have some time alone.

Yet as Jay hit the halfway point of his lap, something caught his eye which caused him to slow down. He'd just been looking around; spotting the kids chasing each other, the dog walker leaving park, and then across the road, a familiar face. Jay kept his eyes on her as he walked along the path, trying to get his breath back. Hailey was talking to a guy he had never seen before, but she looked happy, she was laughing at something he said, and then she was hugging him.

"On your right."

Jay barely turned in time to see the group of joggers heading in his direction.

"Sorry," he muttered, taking a few steps to the side, before looking back to the street. Yet Hailey was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he had imagined it, or maybe she was meeting a friend before she met him. She did have other friends after all.

Blowing out a long breath, Jay started up his jog again. He needed to get back to Will, and then to his flat. Trying to keep his focus on the run, Jay picked up his pace. His muscles ached with each stride he took, he could feel the heat radiating off his face and his hands, and the sweat dripping down his brow.

"Please tell me we're done," Will said as Jay came to a halt next to him. He couldn't speak to start with, the nauseous feeling he got when he overdid things was there, so all he could do was focus on his breathing. "Jay?"

"Yeah," he said as he crouched down, trying to catch his breath. "We're done."

"Thank God," Will said as he patted Jay on the shoulder. "How about some breakfast? I've still got a couple of hours until my shift."

Jay checked his watch; he was supposed to meet Hailey in an hour and a half. Since he still had to get to his, shower, and then get over to hers, he didn't really have time to get breakfast. Yet before he had a chance to reply, he felt the vibrations from his phone. He motioned to Will to give him a minute as he answered it.

"Halstead."

"Hey, Jay," Kim started. "I'm sorry, I know you're off today, but I just need to check if the name Craig Sampson means anything to you?"

Jay thought about it for a moment, but he had nothing. "Not that I know of. Should it?"

"He seems to be running a new outfit on the south side. They've just dropped two bodies and I figured I should check if you'd heard anything that could save us some time, but if you haven't then don't worry. I'll catch you up tomorrow. You should enjoy your day off."

Jay barely had a chance to say goodbye before Kim hung up on him.

"Work?" Will asked as Jay nodded. He was about to put his phone away when he saw he had a text from Hailey. "They calling you in early?"

"Uh no, Kim just needed to check something," he said, keeping his focus on his phone as he opened the message.

_Hey, I'm sorry to do this but something has come up. I need to take a rain check on today. Promise I'll make it up to you._

Jay read the message another time before running a hand over his face. Partly to remove the sweat, partly so Will couldn't see his reaction.

"So breakfast?" Will asked as Jay tucked the phone back into his pocket.

He didn't have any reason not to now. "Sure."

Will seemed ecstatic at the prospect of not running anymore and going to one of his chosen restaurants. Jay tried to match his brother's enthusiasm as they walked over there, asking him random questions to keep him occupied.

"What time are you on?" Will asked once they had ordered their food.

"I'm not," Jay said, keeping his eyes focused on the coffee in front of him

"What's the occasion?"

Jay shook his head gently. "Just have some stuff to sort out."

"You okay?"

He faked a smile, finally meeting his brother's eyes. "Yeah, just boring adult stuff."

"Right," Will said, letting a short silence come between them before speaking up again. "Oh, how's Hailey doing? I forgot to ask earlier."

Jay shrugged. "Okay. Voight said she could come back on restricted duties next week."

"You not seen her? Figured-"

"Been busy with work," he said, cutting Will off as he focused his gaze back on his coffee.

"You could always see her today; she'd probably enjoy the company. I'm assuming she's like you when it comes to taking it easy."

"Look who's talking," Jay shot back, but Will was right. They had been texting a lot, more so than usual, because she was bored of sitting at home every day. "But uh, yeah she's busy today."

"I see," Will said as Jay finally looked back up to find his brother smiling.

"What?"

"You ever considered telling her how you feel?"

"What?"

The look Will gave him meant he expected Jay to know. Which, of course he did, but he couldn't find the words.

"Look, Jay, I say this as your older, much wiser, brother." Jay quirked an eyebrow at him. "I know things didn't end well with Erin, and I know the work and dating thing is complex, but don't miss out on something because-"

"Will," Jay tried to stop him as the waitress brought over their food. Yet as soon as she had gone, Will continued.

"Look just don't lose something by sitting back. I know what it's like…so just. Just maybe take the leap of faith."

"I'll bare that in mind," Jay said as he dug into his breakfast. He really didn't want to talk about this anymore given what he had seen this morning. He might already be too late.

Their breakfast chat moved onto a less serious topic soon after as Will took the hint that Jay was not going to discuss his feelings for Hailey any further. Though just before they left Will still managed to get in a few more, less than subtle, remarks about Jay making a move on Hailey. Jay didn't bother to answer and instead told him to enjoy his shift before walking away in the direction of his apartment.

While he didn't plan to completely follow Will's advice, he also didn't intend to go through with his original instincts. So with some effort, he pulled out his phone and replied to Hailey's text.

_Sure. You ok? Anything I can help with?_

Maybe that way he would get some more information about what was going on. Maybe she had a friend in need, she always wanted to help people after all, but then the memory of earlier came back to him. The guy didn't seem like he was in need, they had both looked so carefree. So what was so important that she was bailing on him for that guy?

Jay pinched his brow and put the phone back in his pocket. He had to leave it alone. They were just friends, and while Jay assumed that she would have told him if she started dating someone…well she hadn't when it was Adam. The memory hurt more than he thought it would, but he let it go. He just wanted her to be happy, even if it wasn't with him.

Knowing he had to get this out of his head, Jay stepped up his pace to get home. He had to find something else to do with his day now. Part of him considered going into work, but he couldn't face having to explain why he no longer needed the day off. While his colleagues might not work it out, he knew his mood wouldn't be the best and he didn't want anyone else to start giving him advice. So he decided to take it one step at a time.

He got home and headed straight to the shower while making a mental list of all the tasks he could sort out. Following the lie he had told Will until he thought of something better was the best plan he had so far, and he had been putting some things off recently. So after getting changed, he started on cleaning his apartment.

Several hours later, Jay dumped the ragged cloth in the bin. He had cleaned his place from top to bottom; it looked almost as spotless as when he had first moved in. There was also the added benefit that his mind had been so focused on cleaning that he hadn't had a chance to think about anything else, but then his phone buzzed, letting him know he had a message. It was Hailey.

_All fine, just something I can't avoid today. Sorry again. Try and enjoy the time off._

Jay didn't know what to say to that so didn't respond. He wasn't thrilled by her cryptic messages, especially given what he had witnessed earlier that day. In fact, he wasn't sure if that made it better or worse. If he hadn't seen her, he had a feeling he would be more worried.

Knowing he needed another distraction, he grabbed a beer and sat down in front of the TV. He didn't care what he watched so he flipped through the channels before settling on the news. The murders Kim had called him about were front and centre, and it was like a switch flicked in his brain. He wasn't thinking about Hailey anymore, but about what was almost certainly his next case. The news wouldn't have all the details, they didn't have the name Kim had mentioned to him, but it would help him get up to speed, ready for tomorrow.

Once the story finished, Jay found himself letting out a yawn. Between the night he had spent with Hailey and the past week of work, he was once again behind on his sleep. Since he didn't have anything else planned, he lay down on the couch and closed his eyes.

His dreams were not the peaceful ones he'd hoped for though. Instead it was a montage of his time in Afghanistan, but this time Hailey was there. She was injured while he just looked on, unable to do anything as the enemy advanced on her. Jay screamed out when he saw her get shot and startled himself awake. His breathing was rapid, and he actively had to slow it down as he sat up properly. He could feel the sweat on his shirt and let out a curse before checking his watch: 7pm. He had been out for almost four hours, but it somehow felt longer and shorter at the same time.

Acting on instinct, Jay checked his phone but there was nothing. He wasn't sure what he expected, but the nothing worried him. He knew everything that had just happened was a dream, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Without thinking, he quickly changed his top, grabbed his car keys, and headed out.

Once he pulled up to the curb, Jay shut off the engine, but he stayed where he was. This was stupid, he knew he shouldn't be here. It was just a bad dream, but something hadn't been sitting well with him all day. Still, he should leave, they were just friends, but then he was moving and he couldn't stop himself.

Jay walked over to her place and knocked on the door. He just wanted to see her, make sure she was ok. Yet when the door opened, he was greeted with someone he wasn't expecting.

"Jay?" Rojas said, seeming a little confused as to what he was doing here.

"Hey, is Hailey in?"

"Oh no, she's out. Anything I can help with?"

"Uh, no. No, it can wait. I was just passing through anyway." Jay forced a smile on his face, "I'll see you tomorrow."

He retreated to his truck before she had a chance to say anything and drove home in silence. Once he parked up, he saw he had two messages waiting for him. One from Will asking if he was busy and one from Hailey asking if he was okay as she had just gotten home and spoken to Rojas. Mentally Jay cursed himself, messaging Hailey back to say he was fine and ask how her day was, before getting out of the truck and heading up to his place.

By the time he had let himself in, he had another message from her, telling him that her day was fine, that she was going to call it an early night, and that she would catch up with him soon. Knowing there was nothing more he could do, Jay grabbed a beer from his fridge and flopped down onto the couch. This was his evening now, so he grabbed the remote, found a Cub's game and then downed his beer before grabbing another one.

About halfway through, there was a knock on his door. Jay wasn't sure if he was imagining it to start with but then he heard it again. There was only one person who normally came by this late so he leapt up, knocking over the empty beer bottles in the process, before hurrying over to the door. Maybe she wasn't having an early night after all and had come over to explain.

The thought put a smile on his face until he opened it to find Will standing there.

"Nice to see you too. You okay?" Will asked, handing him a case of beer as the cheer of the crowd echoed behind Jay. "Oh good, you're watching it too."

Will stepped past, heading straight to the couch as Jay closed the door and followed.

"I've decided running that far is not for me. Whereas drinking, well that's just in our blood." Will smiled at him before seeing the empty bottles on the floor. "You started early I see."

"Had the day off," he told his brother as he took a seat next to him and handed him a beer.

"Yeah. So how did all those adult tasks go?" Will asked as Jay grabbed his half-finished bottle.

"Fine. How was work?"

"Surprisingly good, nothing too serious for once," Will explained as Jay kept his eyes on the TV. "Okay, what's up?"

"What? Nothing."

"Nothing," Will repeated as he picked up the empty bottles from the floor and placed them on the coffee table. "Yeah, this doesn't seem like nothing."

Jay rubbed a hand over his face, usually he would talk to Hailey about this stuff.

"Had a bad dream earlier. There was this time when we were pinned down and we lost some guys." Jay shook his head, taking another sip of beer, he couldn't go into the details. Will didn't speak, but Jay felt his hand on his shoulder. It took almost a minute but then Jay found his voice again. "There was nothing I could do except watch as they were killed. If we had approached in a different way, if we'd had more time…"

"Jay. Hey, Jay," Will called, making him look over. "You can't play the what if game, man."

Jay shook his head and lifted his beer again, but Will took hold of it. It took a few seconds before Jay released it to Will, who set it down on the coffee table next to the empty bottles he had previously collected.

"Sorry," Jay muttered, he didn't want to ruin the evening. "It's nothing. It's fine."

"Jay. I'm always here for you, you know that right?" Jay nodded, causing Will to grab the remote and turn the TV off. "Just talk to me, explain it to me."

It took a while but eventually Jay gave in and told him the story. He had only told two other people the full story before: Hailey and his therapist. Other people knew bits and pieces but never the whole thing, so Will would be the third.

Jay wasn't sure what time they talked until, but it was late enough that Will decided to crash on the couch. And while the evening was different to their usual evenings, Jay felt good by the end of it. In fact, after talking it through he found that he had a peaceful night's sleep. So the next morning he thanked his brother with breakfast and a hug goodbye before heading off to work.

He was quickly caught up with the case, before going out with Kim to interview a witness. Surprisingly the witness cooperated fully, so by the time they were heading back to the station Jay was feeling pretty good. However, his mood hit something of a speed bump when Kim mentioned that Hailey was coming by soon to grab lunch. He still hadn't heard from her since her text last night, but now she was having lunch with the team.

"I'll catch you up," Jay told Kim once they were out of the car and walking to the entrance. He just needed a minute to clear his head.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, just gotta call Will," he told her. Kim didn't question it and disappeared inside as Jay rounded the corner and leant back against the wall.

Maybe he should call Will, see if his brother was free later so he didn't end up drinking alone in front of his TV. Jay even got so far as to pull his phone out, but he stopped as soon as he looked across the street.

Hailey was there with that guy. The guy he had seen her hug yesterday. The guy she was probably with last night. He knew he should just go inside but he couldn't pull his eyes away. Hailey didn't look happy. The guy put his hands on her shoulders, talking at her, but she just shook her head and brushed him off. Jay knew the look well enough; she was pissed off and she needed time to herself to cool down. It appeared the guy hadn't learnt to read her properly as he grabbed her again to talk to her.

Acting on instinct, Jay ran across the road and grabbed the guy's arm, removing his hands from Hailey. "Back off."

"What the hell is your problem, man?" the guy yelled at him.

"She clearly doesn't want to be near you so why don't you back off," Jay said, squaring up to him.

"Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Jay." It was Hailey's voice, but Jay was too focused on the man in front of him. There was no way he was letting him touch Hailey again.

"Who am I, who the hell are you?" Jay asked.

"I'm her brother jackass, and if I want to talk to her I will. So, Jay was it, why don't you go back to wherever you came from and leave me and my sister alone."

Brother. Jay was stunned for a moment as the guy pushed past him. He was still processing everything as he turned back to see Hailey say something he couldn't quite make out to her brother.

"He's your brother?" Jay asked. He knew she had brothers, but she never really talked about them much. He just assumed they weren't close. And seeing how she interacted with him, he guessed he was right about that.

"Yeah." She looked exhausted. "Jay, this is David. David, this is Jay."


	5. Yesterday

"Jay, this is David. David, this is Jay," Hailey said, glancing between the two men.

This was not the way she had wanted them to meet, not that she had thought about it before this moment, but she would never have chosen this. She had just wanted to have lunch with the team, to regain some semblance of normality in her life, and now this had occurred. Jay had his eyes focused on David; Hailey knew he was ready to make a move if her brother did anything he didn't like. David too seemed more interested in staring down Jay than saying anything so it would be left to her to defuse the situation.

"Jay." It took a few seconds before he looked over to her. "We need a few minutes."

He held her gaze, clearly asking if she was sure. She gave a nod, letting him know it was okay to leave. David was her brother and she would deal with him. Jay was reluctant but finally he headed back across the road without another word.

"What's his problem?" David asked, causing Hailey to turn back to him whilst biting her tongue. "What?"

"You really surprised my partner doesn't like you grabbing me?"

"He's your partner? Thought what's her name-"

"Yeah, that's the bit you should be focusing on."

"Oh come on, Hails," he said as she shook her head. She really didn't want to deal with this anymore. "Look I just need-"

"I know what you need," she cut him off. She had spent all of yesterday listening to him, she had spent all of last night processing, and all of this morning coming up with ideas. For now though, she just needed some space and time to think it through. David finally seemed to get the message as he held his hands up. "Just go back to mine. I'll meet you there in a couple of hours and we'll sort it out."

"Really?"

"Yeah," she said, hoping she wasn't going to regret it.

David seemed to have faith in her given the smile on his face as he stepped forward and hugged her. "You're the best."

Hailey wasn't so sure, though she kept the thoughts to herself as David walked away. She couldn't dwell on it now; if the team or Voight saw something was wrong, they might force her to take longer off, and that was the last thing she needed.

Keeping her head down, Hailey walked across the street towards the back entrance. The front was too public, and she didn't want any remarks from Platt right now. The back was private and given that there was no bust planned or any suspects in the cage, it would allow her to take a few minutes to completely clear her head before she went upstairs. Yet as she walked in, Hailey found that the place wasn't empty.

Jay was leaning back against the table, waiting for her. Hailey stopped where she was for a moment, her eyes locking with his. He didn't know the full details, but Hailey was sure the encounter with her brother was enough for him to work out why she had bailed on him yesterday. She hadn't wanted to, but she couldn't abandon her brother, Jay would understand that.

As if reading her mind, he offered her a small smile. The gesture was enough to get her legs moving in his direction. She wasn't sure what to say yet, so instead she took up a similar position next to him before casting her eyes to the floor. Why couldn't things be simple for once? Why did David pick this time to show up in her life? Why-

But her thoughts were cut off as she felt Jay's hand on her own. Hailey took a moment to look at their hands, to be sure of what was happening, before focusing her attention back on Jay. He seemed so much calmer than he had five minutes ago, and so much calmer than she had felt a few moments ago.

"Hailey!"

Immediately Hailey removed her hand from Jay's and turned to see Kim almost running over to her.

"Hey," she said as she stood up and moved a little further away from Jay.

"How are you doing?" Kim asked, not seeming to notice Jay or their previous position. "You look great by the way."

Hailey let out a laugh then; she did not look good right now.

"Aww there she is," Kev called out as he and Adam made their way over.

Both gave her a gentle hug and she couldn't help but smile at her team. They really were the best.

"Pizza's here," Rojas called out as she walked in with a stack of boxes.

"You guys are spoiling me," Hailey said as Rojas set the boxes on the table.

"Not us, this was Voight," Vanessa explained as everyone gathered around. "Said he couldn't make it, but he'll see you next week."

Hailey felt the smile on her face growing larger. This is what would get her through the rest of the week. This is what would get her through dealing with David. Because in a week's time she would be back and all her troubles would suddenly seem so insignificant

"What's this I hear about pizza?" Platt called out as she walked into the room. She ignored the remarks from the rest of the team and headed straight to Hailey, looking her over. "You good? You look tired."

"I'm fine, thanks for the concern," she told her, glancing briefly over at the others who had refocused their attention to the pizza. Well almost all of them. Jay was watching the exchange, looking rather amused.

"Hey," Platt called her, gaining her attention. Though as soon as she had it, she looked over her shoulder before turning back to Hailey and raising her eyebrows.

"What?"

"While it's nice to see Halstead looking human again, and I know you were just injured which I'm sure motivates certain desires," she started, keeping her voice low. "Just remember what I said about Adam. Same rules apply."

Hailey remembered the conversation, but things between her and Jay were completely different to her and Adam. "We're just friends."

"Okay, well I'm sure that will be a fun conversation at some point," Platt said as Hailey bit her tongue. Platt was Platt, she just told it how she saw it. And as much as Hailey hated to admit it, she wasn't exactly off the mark. "Seriously though, I'm glad you're okay."

Hailey thanked her before Platt turned around and spoke loudly.

"You lot best have left some pizza for us; I know what you're like. Go on, Upton."

"Plenty to go around," Kev said while Hailey stepped forward, moving to the table as Jay pushed a box containing her favourite towards her.

She thanked him as she grabbed a slice, doing her best to ignore Platt's words. Something that was easier said than done given the way he was smiling at her.

"Right, Hailey?" Hailey tuned into Kim's voice just in time to hear her name. Apparently, the blank expression was enough to keep Kim talking. "You remember, she thought her grandson was dealing, but turned out he wanted to be a chef?"

"The cupcakes," Hailey said, understanding where Kim was going.

"Yeah, best free food I've ever gotten," Kim declared to the unbelieving group as Hailey backed her up. They had been pretty good.

The conversation flowed easily from there, everyone naming the best food they had received. Hailey took a seat, enjoying being around her friends again, rather than being stuck at home. After a while the conversation moved back to her. They all wanted to know how she was doing, how she was dealing with the medical leave. She answered their questions, leaving out the part where she had spent the last day with her brother, because she had no intention of getting into that, before asking about the case. They were more than happy bringing her up to speed with what she was missing.

As was the way with their work, it couldn't last. Just as the pizza finished up, Kim and Jay's phones started ringing. The carefree lunch was quickly forgotten as details were shared with the rest of the team; another witness with information and a sighting of their suspect. The tasks were split amongst the team, all of them going to grab their gear and head out. Hailey waved them off, assuring them that she could clear up. It would be more enjoyable than the rest of her day, so she set about stacking the boxes when she heard someone behind her.

"Hey," Jay said, causing Hailey to turn around. He finished strapping up his vest before meeting her eyes. "If you want to talk later-"

"Halstead!" It was Platt's voice. "Don't you have somewhere to be?"

Hailey shared a look with Jay before giving him a nod; she would deal with this. Jay waved his hand at Platt, jogging off to the exit, as Hailey turned to face the Sargent.

"I got you a trash bag," she said, holding it up for her to see.

"Thanks," Hailey muttered as she headed over and took hold of it.

"Well, glad to see you're on the mend. Make sure you get some more rest before you come back," Platt said, turning on her heels and heading out of the room.

Trying to ignore most of what had just happened, Hailey set about cleaning up. It didn't take long, even with her sore ribs, and she knew she had no more excuses left; it was time to deal with David.

As she headed home, she went through her options a few times. If this was any other person, she knew exactly what she would advise. Being family was no excuse at this point; she had to go with her gut instinct, it had always served her well in the past. As she walked along, she pulled out her phone and did a few searches before making a couple of calls. By the time she was opening her front door, she knew exactly what to do. He would probably hate her for this, but maybe one day he would thank her.

"Hails," David said, standing to greet her as she entered.

"Come on," she told him, nodding to the door she hadn't bothered to close; just like ripping off the Band-Aid.

"What's going on?" he asked, suddenly seeming nervous.

"We're going to fix this," she told him. "Now."

He took a few moments to gather his coat and shoes. "How are we going to do that?"

"You're going to give me Richie's number."

"Hails, he doesn't care about cops, he-"

"I know. Just trust me on this one. I know what people like him are capable of and I know how to handle them," she explained as she ushered him outside and over towards her car.

Her ribs protested as she climbed in and started the engine; she was supposed to be resting, not fixing her brother's problems.

"You okay?" David asked.

Hailey took a few deep breaths before grabbing the painkillers from her pocket. She swallowed them dry before giving her brother a nod. For a moment he even looked like the kind, concerned older brother she remembered, but then the reality of the situation kicked back in; things were different now.

"So where does this Richie hangout?" Hailey asked as she started driving.

"There's a couple of places," he said as Hailey encouraged him to continue, to tell her everything about the man. Part of her wished he was in Chicago, it would make some of this easier, but she had means to get to people elsewhere; she would just have to call in some favours.

"I really do appreciate you helping me. You're the best sister and I promise I won't ever do this again. I'm gonna go home, make things right with Becky. I swear it. You won't have to worry about me doing anything like this again. And I'll make it up to you."

Hailey faked a smile; she didn't believe him. Plus she had a feeling he was about to take back some of those words as she drove through the gates and parked the car.

"Where are we?" he asked, looking around before spotting the sign. "You think I'm an addict? Hailey, I made a few bad decisions, I just…I'm not an addict. Come on, I get you're trying to make a point, but this was a one-off thing. I'm still me. I-"

"I spoke to Becky," she told him and suddenly the positivity was gone. He was no longer sitting up straight wearing the charming smile he used to get his way. Instead he was hunched over, shaking his head slightly.

"I-"

"You need help, David," she told him, "You might not realise it, but this is where you need to be right now."

"Hailey, come on," he said, reaching out and taking her hand. "I can't…I can't go in there."

Hailey closed her eyes for a moment, composing herself, before looking over to the shell of her brother.

"If you go in there and see it through, I'll sort everything else out. I've already booked you a place." David was shaking his head, gripping her hand even tighter than before. "Or you can get out and walk away. But if you do, we're done."

He didn't speak straight away, instead choosing to rub away the tears that had started to fall. Hailey could feel the hand holding onto her shaking. She had to bite her tongue so as not to say anything else. It may seem cruel to him, but he had to understand the seriousness of the situation.

"I…I never meant it to go this far," David said after a few minutes. "I wasn't…you shouldn't…"

He let go of her hand and wiped his eyes.

"Okay," he said, opening the door and climbing out of the car. Hailey wasn't sure what that meant and so quickly followed, walking round to meet him at the front of the car. "I'll do it."

The words caught in her throat, so she gave a nod instead and took a step towards the entrance but then she felt David's hands on her shoulders.

"Just me. I don't want you to see this part too," he told her before pulling her into a hug and kissing her forehead.

Hailey wanted to say something, but she knew she would break if she tried. So she just watched as David turned and walked away towards the building. Once he was out of sight, she climbed back into the car, but she didn't start it. Instead she sat and watched the entrance as the tears begun to fall. She hated herself for thinking it, but she had to make sure he had really done it.

* * *

Hailey checked the time before raising her hand to the door; it wasn't too late, but it wasn't exactly a normal time to turn up unannounced. When the door opened, she noticed that he was dressed in sweats, but thankfully he didn't look as though he had been asleep.

"Hi," she said, holding up the bottle as Jay grinned at her.

"Hey," he said, stepping aside to let her in.

Hailey didn't need any more of an invitation; she headed into his apartment and placed the bottle on the coffee table before turning back to see Jay walking over to her, his hands in his pockets.

"That's to say sorry for yesterday," she told him, gesturing to the somewhat pricy bottle she had acquired for him, before noticing that something was off. "Did you get a cleaner?"

The place was tidier than she had ever seen it. Not that Jay was messy but there was clean and then there was professional clean.

"I can clean," he told her as Hailey continued her inspection.

"Should get you to do my place sometime, you have some hidden talents," she said, gaining a laugh from Jay.

"Yeah that's not happening," he said before indicating to the bottle. "You want some?"

As much as she did, the side effects weren't worth it. "Painkillers."

"Ah yeah. Well, I've got water," he said, already walking over to his kitchen and grabbing a glass.

"Thanks," she told him as she took off her coat and sat down on the couch. "How was the rest of your day? You catch the shooter?"

"Not yet," Jay said as he came over and took a seat next to her, handing her the glass. "We'll get there."

Hailey nodded, taking a sip of water. She wished she could have been there, but Voight wouldn't let her come back until next week. Even though it would be restricted duties, she knew it would be better than her past week.

"So how are you doing?" Jay asked after she had set her glass down on the coffee table.

"You know, bored of being off. Wishing I could heal quicker," she said, avoiding looking over to him. She knew that wasn't what he was asking; he had seen enough earlier to be concerned. She wasn't sure how to explain it, the situation was so messy, so she took a few seconds before finally opening her mouth. "I haven't seen David in two years. I didn't plan to see him yesterday, he just showed up out of the blue."

She felt the same guilt as she had when she had cancelled on him, but she forced herself to look Jay in the eye. He had no idea what she would give to have spent yesterday with him instead of her brother.

"What happened?" Jay asked as Hailey refocused her gaze to her hands, doing her best to keep a neutral tone.

"I thought he was just surprising me; he's got two young kids and he doesn't get away much. I just. I was excited to see him. He's my big brother you know?" She paused; the short happy memory being pushed away by reality. "But he's changed. I mean everything started off well but then every time I asked about his job, or his kids, or his wife, he just kept avoiding it. By the time he asked me for money I wasn't really surprised."

"Drugs?" Jay asked as Hailey shook her head.

"Gambling, alcohol," she managed, her voice slightly off its normal tone. "Was my dad's thing too. Never thought David would end up that way. He went through some of the worst of it, trying to protect us when we were younger…"

Hailey closed her eyes, trying her best to keep the tears at bay. She thought she had spent enough time doing this by herself earlier so she wouldn't do it in front of anyone else, but apparently not. Jay didn't speak, though a moment later she felt his arms around her, pulling her closer. Initially she wanted to pull away, she really hated Jay seeing her like this, but in the end she just leant her head against his chest.

She wasn't sure how long they stayed there but eventually the tears stopped and she found her voice again. "I checked him into rehab earlier. I spoke to his wife, I'm not sure how that will end but at least she knows where he is. And I sorted out his bookie too. So…well he has a shot when he gets out."

Jay's hand brushed some of the hair out of her face as she gave in and wrapped an arm around his waist. "You did the right thing."

"The right thing doesn't always feel right."

"Not yet, but it will," he told her as she tried her best to hold onto that thought. "And just because he's going through this, doesn't mean he isn't still your brother. He didn't go far enough to negate all of the good memories, did he?"

Hailey thought about it a bit before shaking her head. David was not their father, he had not done himself any favours recently, but she could still see the differences. "You know he helped me get into the academy? When he found out I applied he was really proud, made me all these stupid flashcards with jokes to help me revise."

She even felt a smile on her face as she continued to explain the memory. It was such a long time since she had thought about it, about all the ways that David had been there for her. Part of her felt guilty for not keeping more in touch over the past few years, for not being there sooner for her brother, but Jay pulled her focus back to the good memories. She had never shared some of them with anyone else before, but as with most other things, it just worked with Jay.

So they kept trading stories about their brothers until a thought suddenly occurred to Hailey; Jay still had to work tomorrow. "What time is it?"

Jay let out a yawn before checking his watch. "Uh, eleven."

He looked as tired as she felt, though Hailey had a feeling he would stay up if she asked. "I should go."

"You don't have to," he said as she sat up straight. "I mean, you're welcome to stay here if you want."

She contemplated his words for a moment; his words, as well as Platt's. But then she realised this was no one else's business. "Okay."

There was a grin on Jay's face as they stood up and headed to his room. Just as with last time, he leant her some clothes. They took it in turns to change before both climbing into his bed. This time, Jay didn't stay as far away from her, though there was still a gap between them.

"Night," Jay yawned.

Hailey wished him a goodnight too as she closed her eyes, assuming sleep would come quickly after her day, but it didn't. She wasn't sure why, but her mind was racing, thinking about everything that had happened recently. All the changes, all the bad bits, and then the one good thing.

"Jay," she whispered as she gently rolled onto her side, not wanting to wake him if he was already asleep.

"Yeah?"

Hailey could just about make him out in the dark. Gently she reached her hand out to his face as she moved a little closer. As soon as her hand met his cheek, she saw his eyes open. He didn't say anything, just watched her as she again moved closer to him until their bodies were touching. Her thumb brushed along his cheek as she felt Jay's arm move around her waist.

She could feel his breathing pick up a little as his chest met hers. She considered saying something before realising that she didn't want to say a word, not when she could show him. Doing her best not to second guess her choice, she leaned in and pushed her lips to his.

For a moment Hailey was worried she had made a mistake. There had always been this unspoken line between them, one they had been getting closer to crossing recently, but one that was there nonetheless. Well, had been there until she had effectively launched herself across it. Yet a second later Jay was kissing her back and Hailey knew she didn't need to worry.

The kiss wasn't the crazy passionate one she had dreamt about once or twice, it wasn't the romantic movie one either, it was just them. It was firm but gentle at the same time; as if they both wanted to take it further but also not rush anything.

"So," Jay dragged out, pulling back slightly, as Hailey opened her eyes to see the grin on his face, "we're doing that now?"

"Well, only if you want to."

She held his gaze, waiting to see what he would say next, but instead he leaned in and kissed her.

"Wanted to do that for a while," he said once they broke apart. This time the grin was on Hailey's face. "Maybe longer than a while."

"Me too," she said, leaning in to kiss him again.

"Yeah," he started, muttering some more things that Hailey couldn't quite make out as they continued with their newfound activity. Hailey wasn't sure how long it was until Jay pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. "So, this isn't just a onetime thing, right?"

If it was a onetime thing, they would have done it a long time ago, or potentially never. Definitely not while she was still injured. "No."

"Good. Because I quite like you."

Hailey let out a short laugh before kissing him briefly. "I quite like you too."

It was probably something of an understatement, but it was more than enough given how long they had both been avoiding the situation. Part of her was still a little worried that there was no coming back from this now. With Adam it had been different, just some stupid fun, and they were still friends, but with Jay…she wasn't sure she could go back to being just friends. Yet as Jay let out a yawn, Hailey instinctively leant her head against his shoulder and wrapped her arm around his waist. Maybe she didn't need to worry at all, because this really did feel right.

* * *

When Hailey awoke and started to stretch the next morning, it was the arm around her waist that she felt first. The second was the warm body pressed up against her back, and the third was Jay's lips on her neck.

"Morning," he muttered as she turned to face him.

"Morning." She couldn't help but match his smile as she met his eyes; he looked good in the mornings.

"So yesterday-" But his words got lost as she leant in and kissed him. "Yep. That happened."

"Yeah," she teased him while ignoring the ache already coming from her ribs. Yet before she had a chance to say anything else the familiar ringtone filled the room.

Jay groaned as he rolled over to his side of the bed and grabbed his phone. "Halstead…yeah…yeah okay. I'll be there in twenty."

"Work?" she asked when he looked back over to her apologetically.

"Yeah, I gotta go."

Hailey nodded as she sat up, she knew what it was like.

"Hey," he said as he moved back over to her, kneeling up so he was just above her. "You don't have to go. I mean you can stay here, sleep, rest, eat my food."

"Yeah?" she asked as he leaned down and captured her lips for a slightly longer kiss than she had initiated earlier.

"Yeah," he said as he pulled back and hopped out of bed. Hailey just watched as he dug some clothes out of his drawers and disappeared towards the bathroom. Once he was out of sight, she grabbed her painkillers and the glass of water from the bedside table; she hated that her ribs were still causing her pain.

Thankfully by the time Jay walked back in, looking more professional than he had a few minutes ago, the painkillers were starting to take the edge off.

"You can let yourself out whenever you want," he told her as he walked back over and leant down towards her, pausing a few inches from her face, "or you can just stay here until I get back."

Hailey couldn't stop the smile on her face as she gave him one last kiss before nudging him in the direction of the door. "See you later."


	6. Stay Tonight

"So how did the viewing go?" Kev asked Rojas as she came to a halt by the side of their table.

Jay took a sip of his beer. He vaguely recalled her mentioning it this morning, couldn't for the life of him remember where she was looking though.

"When it said pets allowed, I didn't think it meant coming with mice."

"Mice?" Kim asked as she moved over to the empty chair opposite Jay, allowing Rojas to take her previous seat. "As in-"

"At least two that I saw."

"So that's a no then?" Kevin asked as Jay glanced at his phone: 19:33.

"That's a no," Rojas confirmed. "I need a drink; you guys want another?"

"Can't turn down that offer," Kim said as Kev muttered something similar.

Jay gave Rojas a nod. He'd give it at least one more before he made a move. They'd all had a long day and a couple of team drinks would help.

"You heard from Hailey or Adam?" Kim asked, her question directed at Kevin.

Kev shook his head, saying he had dropped them a message. Jay knew Hailey was busy, but he was surprised Adam wasn't here yet. Maybe he would turn up later, he and Kim certainly seemed to be spending more time together recently.

"Here we go," Rojas said as she set four beers on the table.

A round of thanks came from the rest of them as Rojas took a seat and let out a sigh.

"Don't worry, you'll find somewhere soon," Kev said, causing Rojas to look at him and nod, "and if things aren't working out with you and Hailey, you can always crash with one of us."

"Oh no, Hailey's great. I mean she's hardly even home these days so it's like I have my own place, but still-"

"What do you mean she's hardly home?" Kim asked as Jay focused his gaze on the crowd at the bar, trying not to seem interested by what was being said.

"Just what I said, doesn't matter-"

"Oh it matters," Kim said, cutting Rojas off. Jay knew she wouldn't drop this, but he had no intention of looking at her or the others, just in case he gave something away.

"She probably just met someone," Rojas said nonchalantly, "I don't see the big deal."

The big deal was that as a group of detectives they liked to know what was going on, especially when it involved one of their own. Thankfully Rojas hadn't kept count or wasn't going to tell the group how often Hailey had been gone. Jay was sure the frequency would lead to more questions, and the truth was that since she had kissed him, she had spent every night except one at his. In hindsight they probably should have foreseen this situation coming.

"She has seemed happier recently. Figured that was just due to her being back at work, but maybe it's something else too," Kev said as Kim concurred. "You know anything about this?"

Jay knew Kev was talking to him, but he pretended not to hear until he felt Kev's hand on his shoulder.

"What?" he asked as he finally looked back to his friends.

"You alright?" Kev asked before looking over to where Jay had been staring. "Oh, I see. Guess we're not as interesting as them."

Jay glanced back to the bar before realising it was mostly a group of attractive women standing there now. Initially he wanted to play off the conclusions Kev had come too, but in the end he just smiled. At least this way they wouldn't catch onto the fact that he was the reason Hailey hadn't been home, but the truth was he'd been watching Herman as he served people rather than the group of women.

"You need a wingman?" Kev teased.

"Or wingwoman?" Kim offered as Jay shook his head and took another sip of beer.

"I'm good."

"In that case can you shed any light on Hailey's mystery man?" Kim asked as Jay faked confusion. "Come on, you guys are close. If she was going to tell anyone-"

"No idea," he said, taking a longer sip of his beer as he felt the familiar buzz of his phone.

"Well guess she won't be coming tonight then," Kev said. "Any idea what Adam's excuse is?"

Jay had to bite his cheek to stop himself from smiling given the flash of panic on Kim's face; there was definitely something going on there, but he would leave it. He was just happy the focus was off Hailey for now.

"Said he was tired earlier," Kim said as Jay pulled out his phone.

Once he was sure the others were too distracted with questioning Adam's whereabouts, and that they couldn't see his phone, he opened the text from Hailey.

_So the doctor has cleared me for light activities._

Jay couldn't stop the smile on his face as he messaged back.

_And what does that mean?_

He already had a pretty good idea what it meant; but he wanted to be sure this was going where he thought it was. As a precaution though, he stepped up his drinking pace. If he was wrong, he could just buy another beer.

"So what about you, Rojas? Anyone in your life?" Kim asked, clearly deflecting away from Adam.

Rojas explained that she was just getting her life back together so meeting someone was not high up on her list. There were more questions, but Jay tuned out as he felt the vibrations from his phone. He was far more interested in what Hailey had to say so he quickly opened the message.

_It means you don't have to pretend to be a gentleman anymore. Be at yours in twenty._

Jay took a moment to prepare himself. It was exactly as he had predicted. He could take a few minutes, find an easy way out, but then he calculated the time to get back to his; he needed to leave now.

Without thinking, he downed the rest of his beer. Thankfully the others didn't seem to notice what he was up to until he stood up and grabbed his jacket off the chair.

"Woah man, where are you going?" Kev asked as Jay noticed that all eyes were now on him.

"Got a headache." He motioned in the general vicinity of his fake pain. "Need to sleep it off. Say sorry to Hailey and Adam if they turn up. I owe you some drinks next time."

He didn't bother to listen when they tried to make him stay. He just waved them off, headed outside and grabbed a cab before opening the text again. His imagination was running riot as he considered what their evening could be, but after letting Hailey know he was on his way, there was one other thing he had to check.

_So just how light do these activities need to be?_

* * *

Jay stuck his key in the lock as he double checked his phone; no new messages. He couldn't hear any sounds coming from inside, yet he still called out Hailey's name as he entered and flicked on the light. There was no response though, just his empty apartment.

He pushed the door shut behind him as he pocketed his phone. When he looked up, he realised the state they had left the place in this morning. There were the pizza boxes from dinner last night lying on the floor by the couch, the blankets they had curled up in heaped in a pile, and the mugs and plates from breakfast still on the coffee table.

After shedding his coat and boots, Jay set about cleaning up. He had only managed to move the plates and mugs to the kitchen when he heard his door opening.

"Yeah." It was Hailey's voice. "I know, I'm just wiped. Next time though."

Jay walked out of his kitchen and watched as Hailey leant back against the door to close it.

"Uh huh. Yeah." She dropped her bag on the floor before looking up to Jay, a smile instantly coming to her face. "I'm gonna go now. Have a good evening."

She hung up immediately and slipped the phone into her pocket, shaking her head slightly.

"Having fun?" Jay asked as she bent down to remove her boots.

"Vanessa," Hailey said as Jay moved over to her. "Apparently I was expected out this evening."

"Oh yeah, you were the talk of the team," he told her as she stood back up and raised her eyebrows. "Rojas mentioned something about you not being home much recently."

"Ah." Jay could see her thinking it over, because they really should have seen this coming, but he wasn't interested in discussing it now. Before Hailey had a chance to say anything more, he leant in and kissed her. Her face was still cold from the outside, but it didn't deter Jay as he moved his hands to her waist and guided her backwards until she was against the wall.

"Hi to you too," Hailey said as he started trailing his lips down her neck.

He could feel the smile on his face as he stopped and stood up straight, keeping her body trapped between him and the wall. "Hey."

"Miss me?" she asked as she moved her arms around his neck; as if it wasn't obvious. "You did get over here pretty fast."

"Well you sent me that text."

"It's only been a week, Jay."

"Nine days actually," he told her, gaining a laugh in response. "Not that I haven't enjoyed everything else, it's just having you next to me every night...it's hard to ignore certain things."

"Yeah," she said, a mischievous look in her eyes.

Part of him expected her to say something more, but instead she pulled him closer and kissed him. Jay ran with his instincts, his hands going to the top button of her shirt a few moments later. It took all his restraint not to rip the thing open but undo the buttons one by one. As he reached the last one, he felt Hailey's hands at the bottom of his shirt. He took a small step back at that point, allowing her to pull it over his head before he helped remove hers.

Once it was out of the way, Jay found himself looking down, his eyes caught on the yellow marks around her ribs. They looked a lot better compared to the first time he had seen the bruises, but it was still a reminder of the time he hadn't been there for her. He wondered if Voight would change things once she was off restricted duties, if he should ask him, or if it was better to leave things as they were now that they were…whatever this was.

"Jay."

He quickly fixed his gaze, not wanting to ruin the moment. He wasn't sure if Hailey had noticed his staring, but before he could do or say anything, she grabbed his hand and led him to his bedroom. The bed was still unmade from the morning and Hailey's pyjamas were bundled up in the duvet. It didn't seem to bother Hailey as she turned him around, so his back was to the bed, and pushed him down onto it. Jay quirked an eyebrow at her as she climbed on top of him, took hold of his hands and placed them over the yellow patches.

Jay was gentle as he moved his hands across her skin, looking for any signs that he needed to be more careful, but there was nothing.

"See," she told him as she bent down, her face only an inch from his. "I'm good."

He didn't speak, instead he threaded his hand through her hair and pulled her lips to his. It started off slow and gentle, but with her bare skin against his and her hands roaming, it soon became more heated. Hailey broke the kiss first, sitting up on him and trailing her hands down his chest.

"So uh…just how light do these activities have to be?" he asked as her hands started on his belt.

"Just nothing too crazy. Why? You got something in mind?" she asked as Jay sat up and wrapped his arms around her. Without giving her a chance to stop him, he lifted her up and turned around before setting her down on the bed.

"Oh yeah," he said, his lips meeting hers again briefly. He didn't stay there long though, instead he kissed his way down her body. He knew exactly what he wanted to do.

* * *

"So we calling that light activities?" Hailey asked as she intertwined her hand with the free one Jay had resting on his chest.

He was still getting his breath back as he tilted his head to the side, finding the familiar proud smile looking back at him. "Close enough."

He had tried to keep things slow, but he was only human. They had spent the past year, if not longer, dancing around each other, and Jay had certainly thought about it more than once, especially over the past nine days.

"Guess we'll just have to compare next time," she told him, the mischievous look back in her eyes.

It was something he was becoming more accustomed to seeing; the more relaxed, carefree side of her. He really did enjoy it, though he still needed a minute to get his head back on straight. After a quick kiss, he closed his eyes and pulled her a little closer until her head rested on his chest. He just wanted to enjoy the moment, especially with the feeling of her pressed up against the side of his body.

They stayed in the same position for a while as Jay felt his heartrate returning to normal. He would be more than happy to stay like this for the rest of the night, but the peaceful moment was interrupted by their phones. Jay reached out, feeling Hailey do the same. For a moment he was worried that they might be called in for a case, but then he saw it was just a message in the team's group chat; a picture of Kevin, Kim, Adam and Rojas all doing shots.

"Amazing," Hailey said as Jay chucked his phone down to the floor. Once Hailey had done the same, he pulled her back over to him, capturing their previous position. "They look like they're having fun."

"Yeah," he muttered; it had nothing on his evening though. "Sad you passed up on Molly's?"

"Nah, don't think it could have competed," she told him as he found himself tracing light patterns on her bare arm. "Were the guys annoyed you didn't stay longer?"

"A bit, but no way I was staying there given what you sent me." That got a laugh out of her, her breath tickling his skin. "Plus, everyone thinks you've hooked up with some mystery man. Figured I should at least make the rumours worthwhile."

"So generous," Hailey said as he looked down to find her staring back at him, clearly thinking through the situation. "Probably should have gone home more than once last week. Maybe I should go back tonight."

"Nope," he said, tightening his grip on her. "Can't leave me now. I might feel used."

Hailey laughed at him as she freed her hand from his and gently ran it down his chest. "You'd probably like being used."

Jay felt his voice hitch as her hand continued its journey south before arriving at its destination. "Yeah. There's uh…there's a chance."

"Just a chance?" Hailey whispered as he felt her lips on his skin.

Jay tried to speak, but it came out mumbled as Hailey continued to tease him. He didn't think anything could feel as good as what they had done before, but whatever she was doing to him now was enough to have him questioning his previous assumption.

* * *

Jay startled awake upon hearing footsteps. The room was dark, but he could just make out Hailey as she walked out of the room. Given their energetic evening, he knew he must have dozed off, but he wasn't sure how long for. After rubbing at his eyes, he reached down to the floor to find his phone. It took him a few moments until he located it and looked at the screen. 23:53

"Hey," Hailey said as she walked back in, "thought you were out for the night."

He set his phone down on the side before turning back to her and noticing that she was dressed. "You trying to sneak out?"

"Just grabbed a drink," she said, holding out the glass of water to him. "Figured we should rehydrate."

"Smart," he said as he pushed himself up and took the glass. He had a few sips as his eyes adjusted more to the dark and he realised that he was wrong about her being fully dressed. She was only wearing her top.

"I don't know about you, but I feel exhausted," she said as she climbed back into bed and stole the glass back from him. She drained half of it before placing it on the bedside table as Jay just watched on.

"That mean you're staying tonight?"

Hailey grinned at him as she pulled him down next to her. "Don't think one night is going to make a difference now."

"Yeah," he said as he wrapped his arms around her, "Plus why would you want to leave?"

Hailey let out a short laugh as she rested her head against his chest. "Well we're gonna have to figure out what to do about it tomorrow."

Jay mumbled his acknowledgement as he closed his eyes. He didn't care about tomorrow right now, he just cared that she stayed tonight, right here, with him.


	7. Fallen

Hailey kept her eyes focused on the brown liquid as she swirled it around the glass. She had been nursing the drink for almost an hour, waiting for him to show. This was the second one now. Maybe the whole thing was a waste of time, maybe she should leave.

"Champagne. And four glasses."

She glanced to her left; a banker probably, given the way he was dressed and what he was ordering. When he noticed her, he offered her a smile and leant in closer to speak.

"Waiting for someone? Boyfriend? Husband?"

Hailey faked a smile. "He'll be here soon."

"Well if he doesn't show soon, feel free to come and join us," the banker told her as he indicated to the booth he had, currently filled with a similarly dressed man and two women who were all over him.

"Thanks," she said as the bartender handed over the man's drinks.

The guy took the hint and moved away as Hailey went back to drinking at the slowest pace she could manage. Once she was sure he was gone, she pulled the phone out of her bag and checked the time: 23:13. Today had been a long one. She wanted nothing more than to head back home and sleep, but duty called.

"This seat taken?"

Hailey turned to her left again, a genuine smile forming on her face. Finally.

"Nope, all yours," she said as she took a real sip of her drink.

"That whiskey?" Hailey nodded in response, gaining a smile in return. "A girl after my own heart."

He flagged down the bartender and ordered one for himself and one for Hailey.

"That's very kind of you," she said as the drink was placed in front of her.

"Well it pains me to see a beautiful woman sat all alone. I'm Mitch." He stuck his hand out as Hailey shook it.

"Ally." He was exactly as she remembered from the mugshot this morning; late thirties, dark hair, more facial hair now, but it was him.

"So what brings you here, Ally?"

"Just trying to get a feel for the place before my interview," she told him as she finished off the remainder of her previous drink and pulled the new one over to her.

"So you're a bartender?"

"Trying to be. Just hard to get a break sometimes you know."

That was Ally, down on her luck, and just needed a man to swoop in and save her. As much as Hailey hated the cliché, it seemed to be exactly what Mitch was after.

"You know, you don't wanna work here. They don't treat the staff well, long shifts, bad pay-"

"I just need the money. Rent's due at the end of the week and…sorry you don't want to hear this."

"You know, Ally. This might be your lucky night. I just happen to know a guy who runs a much better place than this, and he's always looking for women with your talent."

Hailey fought the urge to do anything other than smile as he looked her up and down. She knew what the man was capable of, but Ally was broken, didn't care how men treated her.

"Really? But you don't even know me."

"I'm a good judge of character." He pulled out a card to the bar they already knew about. "Come over tomorrow at eight, I'll introduce you to the owner."

"This is incredible, thank you," she gushed, though she refused to utter the words 'what can I do to repay you' because she already knew what a man like Mitch would say to that.

Mitch looked like he was going to say something more when his phone started ringing. He excused himself and headed towards the bathrooms. Hailey chanced a glance at Kev and Kim who were seated at the other end of the bar. Kev took the hint and followed Mitch.

Hailey wasn't sure if there was anyone else with Mitch so quickly returned her focus to her drink and the card he had given her. Back to Ally, who was super excited about her new job opportunity.

It took five minutes for Mitch to return. And while Hailey kept up the fake positivity, Mitch was not as skilled at hiding his current mood.

"Really sorry, Ally." He downed his drink, not retaking his seat. "Something has come up, but I'll see you tomorrow."

"Oh okay, thanks again," she said as he disappeared.

Hailey stayed in her seat for a few minutes; Mitch seemed like he was in a hurry, but she wanted to be sure he was gone before she left. Besides, there could be other people he knew in here who would speak about her. So she avoided Kim and Kev as she talked to the bartender, turning down her fake interview, before gathering her things and exiting the bar.

She waited around the corner for a minute, making sure no one followed her out, before heading over to the familiar truck.

"Congratulations," Jay said as she slipped into the passenger's seat, causing her to laugh.

"Yeah, well that was easier than I thought," she said as Jay pulled onto the road.

"Can't blame the guy," Jay said as she shook her head. "Any chance you want to come over once we're done?"

"Missing me already?" she asked as she watched him carefully.

Given the case they were working and the long hours, they hadn't spent as much time together recently. Hailey wouldn't admit it aloud, but she had missed spending the last two nights with him. Sleeping in her own bed was colder and for some reason not as comfortable. She could see the smile playing on Jay's lips as he kept his focus on the road.

"Just like it when you're around," he said.

"Yeah, me too," she told him, reaching out and squeezing his hand when he pulled up at a set of lights. "I mean I can't promise I won't just pass out when we get to yours but passing out with you sounds pretty good right now."

"Let's get the debrief over with then, hopefully nothing else has come up tonight. You know what these gangs are like."

She nodded as Jay pulled his hand away and placed it back on the steering wheel. This whole case had started because one gang had ripped off another and killed some people in the process. They'd followed the usual leads, but no one wanted to talk to them so the only way in seemed to be an undercover. Mitchell Barker had a reputation for not being too discreet with women, trying to show off to them, and it appeared Hailey, or Ally, was completely his type. Hailey just hoped it didn't take her too long to get the whereabouts of the drugs from him, along with the name of the shooter, and anything else his boss had planned.

* * *

With the job offer Hailey had received, and the conversation Kev had managed to overhear, the debriefing was quick. Voight had praised them for their efforts before telling them all to get some rest. The next night would be a long one so he needed them at full strength. Plus, with this progress the ivory tower would likely back off a bit.

Hailey headed straight to the locker room after they were dismissed and grabbed her bag. She packed away her clothes from earlier in the day, from before she had changed into Ally, and a set for tomorrow as she wasn't sure what she had left at Jay's the last time.

"Oh man I don't know if I want to drink or sleep."

Hailey closed her eyes briefly as she heard Vanessa's voice, she had hoped to get away quickly without the others noticing.

"Sleep," Kim said as Hailey zipped up her bag and pulled it over her shoulder. "Definitely sleep."

"Boring. What about you, Hailey?"

"I'm with Kim on this," she said as she turned around to find the two women staring at her. "What?"

"Nice look," Kim said, opening her own locker.

It took Hailey a moment to realise what Kim meant, but then it hit her. She was still in the rather revealing black dress she had worn to the club, but she had changed out her heels for her boots, chucked on her winter coat, and slung the duffle bag of clothes over her shoulder.

"Just can't be bothered to change when I'm gonna go pass out."

"Okay," Vanessa said as Hailey walked past them and headed towards the door. "Any chance of a lift back with you?"

Hailey reached into her bag and pulled out the keys. No way of getting out of this one fully. She turned back and chucked the keys to Vanessa. "You take the car."

To her credit Vanessa didn't say anything, she knew enough of Hailey's habits to know it meant she wasn't coming home tonight. Deciding she didn't want to give either of them a chance to ask any more questions, she stepped up her pace to get to Jay and the truck. Just as when she had left the club earlier, she checked around her, to ensure no one had followed her or was watching her, before she opened the door.

Jay had been on his phone when she entered but he quickly put it back in his pocket as she shoved the bag onto the backseat.

"You didn't change," he said as she strapped herself in and he started the engine.

"Too much effort," she told him as he pulled out onto the street.

"Oh okay. Well if it's too much effort for you, I can always help you take it off."

Hailey couldn't help but laugh at his words as he drove them along. "That ever work?"

"Guess we'll find out soon."

They spent the rest of the drive catching up about the last few days. Jay had spent one night with Will who was still dealing with the fallout of Natalie and Philip. The stories Jay told her were more than enough to fill the time back to his, as well as worry Hailey, though Jay assured her he was keeping an eye on the Philip thing, just in case.

"You know I think that's enough about my brother," Jay said when they finally got into his apartment.

"Ah but I like hearing about my favourite Halstead," she teased him as he turned back to face her.

They were still in the hall, but Hailey recognised the look well enough. A moment later, Jay was pulling her towards him, and then he was kissing her. Hailey found herself relaxing into him as she kissed him back. She assumed it was going where Jay had hinted at earlier, but then he pulled back.

"So any chance you want to leave the dress here for another time?" he asked as he unzipped her coat for her and helped her out of it.

"You not still offering to help me take it off tonight?" she asked as she helped him remove his coat after he had hung hers up.

Jay just smiled at her as he leaned back in and kissed her again, a lot slower this time. When he pulled back, she suddenly noticed the dark patches under his eyes, the weariness on his face.

"I mean I can-"

"But it probably wouldn't be too attractive if either of us fell asleep halfway through," she cut him off as she took his hand and headed towards his bedroom.

"I ever tell you you're too smart for your own good? Also, you look amazing in that."

Hailey let out a laugh as she headed round to her side of the bed before turning back to Jay who was watching her every move.

"Not that I don't appreciate the compliments-"

"But." Jay cut in for her as she unzipped her dress with an eyeroll; they knew each other far too well sometimes.

"But should I be worried about anything?" she asked as she dropped her dress to the floor and stepped out of it.

"Nope." He was shaking his head as she looked up to find he had shed his shirt. He was staring at her now though, more so than before. Maybe he wasn't too tired. Maybe she wasn't either. Just before she had to wave a hand at him, he looked back up and met her eyes. "Sometimes a guy just wants to let his girlfriend know how incredible she is."

"Girlfriend huh?" she asked as she slipped on her pyjamas. They hadn't used those terms before.

Jay didn't respond straight away. She saw him run a hand through his hair and scratch the back of his neck as she climbed into bed. After seeing the smile on her face though, Jay removed his jeans and climbed in after her. As was their way, they immediately curled up together, their arms wrapped around each other and legs intertwined.

"So about the girlfriend thing," Jay started, but paused as Hailey leant up and kissed him.

"Don't sweat it," she told him, running a hand through his hair. "But for the record, boyfriend wise, you're not half bad."

"Not half bad?"

The hands he had around her were suddenly at her sides and a moment later they were tickling her. She couldn't help but laugh as she tried to wriggle free whilst fending him off. It was only when her knee jerked up reactively, almost hitting him somewhere that would have him out of action for a while, that he relented.

"You're dangerous," he told her from his slightly retreated position, his hands protectively covering himself.

"Uh huh," she said as she shuffled closer to him and carefully pried his hands away, wrapping them back around herself. Jay muttered something she didn't quite make out as she rested her head against him. "And you're incredible too."

Jay didn't say a word, but Hailey felt him place a kiss to her forehead as he pulled her a little closer. They stayed that way, silently holding onto each other, before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

It had been over a week since Hailey had started working at the club, and she barely had anything to show for it. Hailey wasn't sure what had happened, but Mitch had gone from being overly chatty with her to keeping things strictly professional after a day. Whoever he worked for must have had a word because these days he stormed around the place every now and again, yelling at people, though still never at her.

While Hailey had managed to gather some information, it wasn't nearly enough. The only thing Hailey knew for certain was that there was a room at the back where she wasn't allowed to go, and a lot of the crew ended up. For a week she had tried to find a way to get herself back there without blowing her cover, but she had found nothing so far.

The suggestion of just raiding the place had come up, but until they knew what was back there, they didn't want to show that they were onto the gang or this club. So instead they had tried another tactic. Rojas had been sent to join Hailey undercover. She had previous UC experience pretending to be a bartender, so it made sense. And while Mitch had been the one to get Hailey her job given his stake in the place, the manager seemed to like her enough to give her friend a chance too.

"Okay, I got it," Vanessa said as she slid up to Hailey at the bar.

"Oh yeah, what's that?"

"I say I'm looking for the bathroom."

"You walk past the bathroom on the way there."

"Yeah but I'm dumb," Vanessa said as Hailey rolled her eyes. She had considered that angle before but there were cameras and it wasn't worth the risk.

"We wait for now, we watch, and then we find the right opportunity."

Vanessa looked like she was going to say something more but then a drinks order came in for her. Two hours later she was back again with another idea.

"Okay so I heard some of the guys talking, apparently there's a first aid kit back there."

"Yeah, there's also one under the bar," Hailey said as she analysed the room. Mitch and his muscle were still sitting in a private booth discussing something. She wanted to overhear it, so she grabbed a tray and six shot glasses.

"I know. So when everyone is busy, I'll remove the bandages from it," Vanessa explained as Hailey grabbed the tequila. "Then whoops, I drop a glass and bam, we have a reason to go there."

"Surely they would just go and get it for you," Hailey said as she picked up the tray. "Just go take the order from the girls over there in a minute and keep them talking. See what you can overhear."

Without letting Vanessa respond, Hailey headed over to the booth, plastering on her fake smile. Mitch and his guys hushed up quickly, but she did overhear someone saying that Billy was late.

"Hey, Ally," he said, his tone much gentler than it had been a moment ago. "What can we do for you?"

"Well, since you're all such good customers." That got a laugh out of all of them. "Free shots on the house."

"Since I own some of this house, that basically means I'm paying for it."

Hailey smiled at him, her sweet innocent smile, as she placed a glass in front of each of them. "Well, you all look so down and I thought this might cheer you up."

Plus, it might get them to loosen up and start talking a little more freely in front of her. Mitch hesitated in taking his; Hailey noticed the others didn't even start to reach for theirs until Mitch finally picked the glass up.

"Thanks, Ally." He downed the shot, causing the others to follow suit.

"I'll leave the bottle here in case you want some more."

There was a round of thanks before Mitch gave her a nod to dismiss her. It would be enough for now. Hailey grabbed the tray and headed back to the bar. Once there, she glanced over to see Rojas in position and Mitch pouring out another round of shots. Maybe this would work. There were enough groups of people near Mitch that her and Rojas had good reason to be going back and forth so frequently.

An hour later, Vanessa indicated for Hailey to follow her towards the bathrooms. Hailey made her excuses to her manager and headed down the hall. As soon as she was inside, she quickly swept the room, ensuring they were alone before letting Vanessa talk.

"Okay, so Billy still hasn't shown up. They thought someone had taken him, but I just overheard Lance say that Billy had called in and said he thought he was being followed. So now they're gonna go out and help him trap whoever is following him."

Kev and Kim were on Billy last Hailey heard. She had to warn them, though there was one other thought that came to mind. "They all going to help?"

Rojas nodded as Hailey ran through the scenarios in her head. They never all left. And if Billy thought he was being followed they would all become more paranoid going forwards.

"Keep an eye out," she told Rojas as she pulled out her phone and dialled the familiar number. "You get that?"

"Yeah, Adam's calling them as we speak. We've got GPS on the car so they can back off. You going in?" Jay asked.

"It's the best chance we have." She was still concerned, these guys were overly cautious, but there really wouldn't be a better chance. "There's cameras though, can you deal with that?"

"Give us five minutes. Make sure you're near and you have a torch. Once we're sure they're clear, we'll sort it."

"Okay," she said, focusing her eyes on the mirror in front of her. She should touch up her makeup, it was a good enough reason for her to come back here soon.

"You've got this," Jay said, causing a smile to wash across her face. She knew he would be able to see from her camera, now pointed at the mirror, and so gave a nod before hanging up. Earpieces wouldn't work for them in here, but the cameras her and Rojas were wearing gave the guys audio and video, which was more than enough for them to keep up to date with the situation.

"Be outside here in five minutes," she told Rojas as she exited and went back to the bar.

She watched Mitch and the guys leave, served a customer, before playing up to Ally's vanity and her manager's soft spot for her. So four and a half minutes after she had originally left the bathroom, she was walking back towards it with her makeup bag in hand. She wasn't sure which excuse Rojas had used, but she also returned with a few seconds to spare.

The blackout happened just as expected. There were shrieks from the main room, the sound of glasses breaking, but Hailey and Vanessa had been expecting it. With Hailey's phone for light, they headed straight for the door at the back, the one with the useless cameras hanging above it. Rojas took on lock picking duty, apparently something she had spent a lot of time doing given how quickly she got it open.

Hailey patted her back as she opened the door and walked in, stopping dead in her tracks at what was illuminated by her phone.

"Holy shit," Vanessa said as Hailey closed the door and started taking pictures.

The whole table was filled with bags of coke and stacks of cash, more than they had expected to be here. More than Yarrik had led Voight to believe had been taken. Hell, it was more than Hailey had ever seen in one place before.

"Call it in," Hailey told Vanessa as she took a few more pictures. In one respect she was impressed by what they had pulled off. On the other hand, she couldn't believe it had been here all the time. They should have just raided the place.

Once she was sure she had what was needed, she looked around, taking in what else was there. Some old metal shelves were attached to the back wall, boxes of leaflets and alcohol lining them. There was another door to the back right. Hailey had a feeling it would be locked, but they would find out what was in there as soon as the team got here and they officially raided the place. Given the amount they would take, someone would flip on the shooter, though she was still annoyed she hadn't managed to get the name.

"Hailey," Vanessa called out, causing Hailey to look back to her partner, but not before noticing the two guns on the table. "No answer."

"You tried Adam too?" she asked as she carefully lifted one of the guns up, it could be the murder weapon.

"Neither of them."

There was a knot in Hailey's stomach as the lights suddenly came back on. Something wasn't right. Acting on instinct, she grabbed the gun and shoved it into the nearest box of leaflets. She then took her phone and shoved it into a box two along from it.

"What the hell are you doing?" Vanessa asked but Hailey didn't answer as she ran around to Vanessa.

Yet before she got a chance to say anything, the door opened and in walked Mitch.

For a few moments, Hailey didn't need to act terrified as Ally because given everything that had just happened, she knew something had gone horribly wrong. She just didn't know exactly what yet.

"What are you doing here?"

"Is he still out there?" Vanessa asked.

"What?" Mitch asked.

"The guy. We were on our way to the bathroom and then the lights all went out. This sleezy guy comes up and starts putting his hands all over Ally. Something about how it was free if no one could see. Seriously creepy."

"You okay, Ally?" Mitch asked, taking a step towards her.

She was surprised he even remotely believed the story, but Mitch had a soft spot for her. Maybe that's why he was overlooking the holes in it. Hailey played along, nodding, but not speaking. Ally was too scared to speak.

"Look, he tried something, so I kneed him in the balls and we ran away. Couldn't really see anything but we didn't want to stay out there. So we just hid in the first door we came across."

Hailey kept her eyes on Mitch as he furrowed his brow. "Yeah. You know I thought this door was locked."

Vanessa shrugged. "Was open when we tried it, maybe someone forgot to lock it."

"Maybe," he said as he closed the door fully. "We're pretty careful around here."

"Yeah, of course. I get it," Vanessa said, gesturing to the table behind her. "My brother, well he's not in your league but similar line of work."

"That so?" Mitch asked, his eyes focused on Vanessa.

Shit. Hailey silently berated herself. She should have cried earlier, played the damsel in distress better. Mitch wasn't thinking emotionally anymore, he was working it out.

"Yeah, there was this one time when he picked up this large shipment, then he went to meet his girl and the idiot forgot to lock the car. You should have seen how stressed he was, but thankfully no one breaks into cars on her street. She was pretty well off, think she liked the bad boy thing."

"What's your point?"

"Point is nothing bad happened. Ally is fine, your stuff is good."

"Yeah. You know something isn't adding up here," Mitch said as he pulled a gun from his waistband.

He didn't point it at either of them, instead he kept it directed at the floor as he looked between the two of them. Hailey kept her eyes on him; if he caught her looking over to her partner, he might use it as confirmation that there was something more going on. She just hoped Vanessa was doing the same.

"Look man-"

"No." Mitch cut Vanessa off as Hailey felt her muscles start to tense. Things were going south, she had to be ready. "No more talking from you."

Hailey used his moment of distraction to cast her eyes around the part of the room she could see, now in light. There was the door behind Mitch and more shelves, empty this time, but nothing else on that side. Mitch pinched his brow as Hailey calculated the odds. He was a couple of meters away, enough time to lift the gun out and get a shot off if either of them tried anything. They might be able to surprise him, but it was too risky as far as she was concerned, especially when the other guys were likely just outside.

"Okay-" he started but then he was interrupted by a knock at the door. "What?"

No one spoke. The door was thrown open to reveal one of Mitch's hired help. It could have been their opportunity had there not been more people behind him. Hailey took the chance to look over to Vanessa, who seemed to be having similar thoughts about making a move. Hailey gave a quick shake of the head; they had to let this one play out for now.

"You'll want to see this," he said as he stepped inside, indicating to whoever was behind him to follow.

As soon as he moved out of the way, Hailey felt the air disappear from her lungs: Adam. He had a bloody nose, clearly having put up a bit of a fight, but she assumed the man with the gun rested against his head had won. They locked eyes for a moment, sharing the understanding that they couldn't do anything, as he was marched into the room.

"They were outside, by the fuse box."

They. Hailey felt sick. She already knew what that meant before Jay was also pushed through the door. He too looked like he'd put up a fight given the bruising on his face. They locked eyes, and Hailey saw something she hadn't seen much before from Jay: fear.

"I already told you, there's been some sort of mistake. I was just going to take a leak and then your guys jump me. What the hell man?" Adam said as he was pushed over to the corner before looking over to her and Vanessa. "And who the hell are they?"

Jay was shoved next to Adam. There were Mitch and four guys, all with guns, against four unarmed officers. On the plus side they hadn't tied them up yet, which was a mistake on their part. All four of them were well trained in unarmed combat, they just had to wait for the right moment.

"You. Shut up," Mitch yelled before conferring with one of his men.

Hailey took the chance to check on Jay again. He was doing what she had done before, assessing the room and situation. She didn't get a chance to meet his eyes before she noticed Mitch walking over to her.

He held the gun up, under her chin, forcing her to tilt her head up. "Why don't you seem nervous?"

She was. This was not a situation where she was predicting a good outcome. "You think this is the first gun I've had in my face?"

Mitch held her there before smiling.

"Always liked you, Ally." He lowered the gun. "So maybe you can tell me what's going on here?"

Hailey weighed up the options. She couldn't tell him the truth, she couldn't continue to be the Ally he knew given how many holes in the story there were, but she did have one more hand to play.

"You have something that doesn't belong to you," she said as Mitch started putting the wrong pieces together.

"Yarrik?" he asked, looking a little paler, causing Hailey to nod.

"How do you think he'll feel if he knows you've got us, especially after you already stole his product?"

"I…" Mitch look flustered. She could talk them out. "So you didn't really need a job as a bartender? You just, you wanted a way in here? For Yarrik? And what was the plan, steal it back?"

Hailey stayed quiet as he paced up and down, but she kept her eyes on him fully. He muttered a few things under his breath before getting back in her face. "I take it you're in charge out of the four of you?"

She could have pretended not to know Adam and Jay, but who knew how Mitch would react to that. Deciding she should run with it, she gave a nod.

"Your boss gonna be happy with this screw up?"

"They're new," she explained, assuming Mitch had been through this at some point himself. "I'll deal with them after this, but for now-"

"You know." Mitch cut her off after looking at the others. "I think you and I should have a more private chat."

He grabbed her arm and started to drag her over to the door. Hailey considered objecting as she heard Adam and Vanessa's protests about her being taken, but she decided against it. This might be their best chance.

"Boss?" one man called out as Hailey was shoved through the door. "What should we do with them?"

"They're new right? Not particularly important," Mitch said, pulling her back to face him, but blocking her view of the room. "You see Yarrik killed one of my guys recently and I always find the best lessons are learnt when you show people you're serious."

"Let's just-"

"Kill one, tie the other two up."

"Wait! You-"

But Hailey was cut off by the sound of a gunshot.


	8. Trapped

"Kill one, tie the other two up."

Jay barely had time to register the words before he saw the gun. On instinct he was moving towards it. The time for letting things play out had gone.

"Wait! You-"

But Hailey's voice was cut off as a shot was fired, and then another, and another. There were yells from Rojas and Adam as Jay felt himself falling to the ground. He managed to get his arms out to break his fall, but before he had time to check what had happened, he felt the metal against the back of his head.

"Stay where you are."

Jay grit his teeth, trying to draw in longer breaths as he kept his face planted on the floor. His side ached, but he knew the pain was from someone pushing him out of the way. He hadn't seen if it was Rojas or Adam. He'd been too focused on the gun, on Mitch's words, on Hailey's…

"Hands. Behind your back."

As much as he wanted to get up and start fighting, he knew how badly outnumbered he was. So reluctantly Jay cooperated and placed his hands behind his back. He knew the feeling of zip ties; he'd had the experience before.

"Get up, slowly."

It wasn't the easiest position to get up from, but he managed to kneel. As soon as he was upright, the guy who had been giving him orders kicked him in the centre of the chest, causing him to slam back against the metal shelves lining the walls.

Jay coughed, trying to catch his breath as he finally got a look at the rest of the room. Adam was five feet away from him, face down on the floor. Jay scanned his body, looking for wounds as he felt more restraints being placed around him to secure him to the shelves.

"Ow. Fuck," Rojas yelled, causing Jay to look up from Adam to Rojas who had her left hand over the top of her right arm, both of which were covered in blood.

"How the hell did you shoot both of them?" Lance - the second in command based on Hailey's intelligence - yelled at the shooter, the one that couldn't have been more than twenty years old.

"I dunno. They were all moving and-"

"Shut up and get out of here."

The kid didn't need to be told twice. He quickly exited the room with one of the others as Jay watched two of the men drag Rojas over to the shelves on the opposite side of the room. She screamed in pain as they moved her arms behind her back.

"Come on, man. She's injured," Jay called out, he couldn't keep quiet anymore.

"Shut up," Lance yelled as Jay chanced a look at Adam. He still couldn't see any blood, not that the others had noticed yet.

"Get off me," Rojas called out, struggling against the men who were tying her up in a similar fashion to Jay. "I said get the hell off me."

A second later the fist of one of the guys connected with the side of Vanessa's face. Jay had wanted to do more, to say something, but he really needed them to leave as soon as possible. So he watched on as they searched her, one of them pocketing her phone.

"You two," Lance yelled once they had secured Rojas. "Get this packed up now and into the cars. And you too."

The one who had tied Jay up moved over to help the other two. The three of them grabbed some black bags from under the table and started loading up the drugs and cash. Jay saw Lance grab a gun from the table and stick it in his waistband before kneeling in front of Rojas.

"You gonna behave now?" he asked.

Rojas spat out some blood in response as Jay looked to Adam again. There still wasn't anything. The others seemed too busy to notice, but Jay had a feeling it was only a matter of time, and then what would they do? Worst case scenarios, as if this wasn't one of them, played out while he watched the four men still in the room. Given their reactions and the way they moved, Lance and one of the others were well trained, maybe ex-military. The other two were not.

"Lance."

The call came from the other trained one. They had finished packing up, he was asking for permission to leave. A nod from Lance gave him his answer. He grabbed two duffle bags and left, the two other guys trailing behind him, but they only managed a few steps before Lance called them back.

Jay watched as Vanessa stared Lance down. The guy seemed to be enjoying it given the smile on his face when he stood up.

"You two." He pointed to the non-trained guys. "You get to clean this up."

He indicated to Adam's body, but thankfully didn't really look at Adam as he was more interested in grabbing the last two duffle bags. Jay managed to catch Rojas' eye for a moment; she wasn't in the best state, but she was ready for a fight. Jay waited until Lance had left the room and closed the door before he opened his mouth. He wasn't sure if Adam had managed to keep track of the occupants, but he knew how to solve that problem.

"You two ever done anything like this before without the rest of them around?" The nervous look they shared was enough to know they hadn't. "When our boss finds out about this, you're gonna wish-"

"You wanna end up like your friend?" The one who had kicked him earlier, the hot-headed one, pulled out his gun and walked towards Jay.

"Cowards!" Rojas yelled. "Make it a fair fight and see how you do."

The hothead balled his spare hand into a fist as he turned to face Rojas, but Jay couldn't let him end up over there, he was too much of a risk.

"She's right. You don't have it in you. You're weak! You're-"

"Shut up! Fucking gag her. I'll get him."

And that was all Jay needed. He and Rojas goaded their respective guards so they didn't realise what was happening until it was too late. It only took Adam a few seconds to get up and disarm the hothead. The other guy only realised what was happening once his friend was flat on the floor and Adam had a gun trained on him.

"Hands up. Walk here slowly and don't try anything stupid," Adam told him as Jay kept his eyes on the hothead.

Even with Adam's knee on his back, keeping him in place, Jay didn't trust the guy to stay rational.

"Good," Adam said. "Now you're gonna undo my friend here."

A few moments later, the quiet one had a knife out and was leaning past Jay. As soon as the first tie was undone and his right hand was free, Jay took the knife. He quickly finished undoing the rest of his restraints as Adam got the quiet one to zip tie the hothead before lying down on the floor next to him.

"You good?" Adam asked as Jay rubbed his wrists while standing up; he hated zip ties.

"Yeah, you?" he asked, already moving over to Vanessa once he saw that Adam had the situation under control.

"Hurts like a bitch, but at least it's only bruising."

"Good," Jay said as he dropped to his knees in front of Vanessa and cut her restraints. "How you doing?"

This was likely the first time she had been shot, the first time she had been held hostage, not the best experiences.

"I'm good." The pain was clear on her face, but Jay offered a smile at her resolve; Hailey had been right about her, about what she could become. "Hurts like hell though."

"Yeah, it will" Jay said as he inspected her wound, causing her to curse whilst squeezing her eyes shut. "Doesn't look like it hit anything important."

"You learn that from your brother?"

Afghanistan, but that wasn't likely to be reassuring at this point. "Yeah, this bit's gonna suck."

He grabbed the cloth that was going to be used to gag her and tied it securely around the wound. Again Vanessa swore at him, but once he was done, she thanked him. Jay told her to stay put before moving over to Adam who had both of their original captors tied up and on the floor.

"What now?" Adam asked as Jay scanned the room again.

There was another door in the corner, a potential means to escape, to get help. Vanessa was holding up well, but she needed a hospital. Adam too would need to be checked out and Hailey…Jay had no idea what was happening to her right now. As much as he wanted to head out and find her, Mitch had shown that he would kill so he had to stay rational.

"We need to get them out of here, and you, in case the rest come back."

If anyone entered now, their hand would be forced, and a shootout was not going to end well. Acting on instinct, he knelt next to the quiet one on the floor and lifted his head.

"What's out that door?" Jay knew there would be resistance, but he was in a hurry. "I really don't want to ask twice."

Still there was defiance, so Jay lifted him off the ground and marched him over to the door before slamming him into the wall next to it. He swore at Jay before Jay slammed him into the wall again. "Shall we try this again? What's out this door?"

"It's just a cupboard."

Internally Jay cursed, but maybe it would do for now. "Open it."

Reluctantly the guy opened the door to reveal an empty room which was more like a walk-in wardrobe. More selves lined the walls; most were bare, though there were a few empty bags and a TV on one of them. There was also a large safe sat on the ground at the back. As he took in the rest of the room, Jay realised the walls were reinforced with something. Clearly no one would be breaking in or out from this room.

"Adam, bring him over." It wasn't a means to escape, but at the very least they could secure the two guys.

Adam let out a sigh once he saw the room. Clearly he had been hoping for an escape, but he quickly set to work on securing the two men to the shelves. Once Jay was sure Adam was done, he backed out into the main room and saw Vanessa riffling through one of the boxes.

"What are you doing?"

"Hailey. She put a gun and her phone in one of these boxes. I can't remember which exactly, but I think it was this one," Rojas said, her left hand still in the box nearest to Jay.

Jay felt a small amount of relief as he went to help Rojas. Hailey was smart, so smart when it came to this stuff, and it very well might be their best means of escape. If they could just make one call, they could get backup down here.

"You think she's okay?" Rojas asked as Jay examined the box Rojas had her hand in, trying to see anything that wasn't a leaflet.

"Yeah. Hailey can handle herself."

She could, she really could. He trusted Hailey with his life, with everyone's life for that matter. If there was a way out of here for them, she would find it. And in the meantime, he would just keep believing that she was fine, that she had everything under control, because if he didn't, he would lose it.

"Finally." Vanessa proclaimed as she pulled out a gun.

She looked so proud of herself that Jay offered her a small smile; the phone would have been more use right now.

"You should take it." She held out the gun to him. "My arm, not the best for shooting right now."

"We're getting out," he told her.

He didn't miss the flash of concern on her face, but there wasn't anything more he could say that would help. Getting them out was what would make the difference. He took the gun with a thanks and checked it over. There were six bullets left, but it seemed like it would work.

After putting the safety on, he slipped the gun into the back of his jeans.

"Guys, we've got company coming," Adam called out. Jay glanced over to the cupboard to see Adam pointing at the TV. "The cameras are looped in, you need to get back into position."

Acting on instinct, Jay pushed the box back into place as Adam closed the door, hiding himself and their two captives. By the time he was sat in his original position, Rojas had retaken hers.

"Follow my lead, okay?"

She gave a nod just as the door opened.

The first person through was Hailey. She was pushed through, falling onto the floor where Adam had been. Jay watched as she sat up, looking at the blood on her hands and on the floor. It took him a moment to realise that Vanessa must have wiped her own blood on the floor to make it look like Adam had really been shot, because there hadn't been any there when he had gone into the cupboard. He wished he could let Hailey know that all of them were okay given the pain on her face as she kept her eyes on her hands. She was thinking the worst, he could see it as she closed her eyes for a moment before finally looking over to him. There was a second of relief as she blew out a breath before she looked back to her hands, clearly coming to the wrong conclusion.

"Over there," Mitch said, pointing to the shelves next to Vanessa.

Without a word Hailey moved over and sat down, keeping her eyes focused on her bloody hands. The kid who had shot Adam and Vanessa was next to her soon afterwards, forcing her hands behind her back.

"I'm going to give you some time to consider my offer and then we'll be back to make a decision. Got that, Ally?"

"Got it," Hailey said, her eyes now focused on the floor.

Mitch left immediately after with his lacky, meaning it was just the three of them in the room. Jay kept his eyes on Hailey, he couldn't see any visible injuries on her, but she wouldn't look at him or anywhere else other than the spot on the floor she had picked. He was worried, hoping it was only her assumption that Adam was dead that had caused it and nothing Mitch had done to her. He had to tell her now, couldn't let her keep thinking the worst.

"Hey-"

"We're clear," Adam called out as he opened the door from the cupboard.

It was the sound of Adam's voice that snapped Hailey out of her trance. She quickly looked up to him before scanning the room again, making sure all three of them were there before settling on Jay, tears welling in her eyes. She let out a shaky breath as Adam moved over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, don't worry. We're all fine," Adam said as Vanessa coughed. "Okay, mostly fine."

"How?" she asked, focusing back on Adam as Jay pushed himself off the floor.

Adam was showing her the vest under his shirt as Jay knelt next to her and pulled the knife out of his pocket. He could see the relief in Hailey's eyes as Adam retreated to watch the cameras.

"We're okay," he whispered, gaining her attention, as he cut her free from her restraints.

She didn't say a word, but she grabbed his hand with her newly freed one and squeezed it tight. Jay brushed his thumb over her fingers for a moment, it was the most they could offer each other right now.

"We should get out of here," Hailey said as she let go of his hand.

"Good plan," he told her as they both stood up. "We've got access to the cameras, but there's no other way out. Vanessa said you stashed your phone?"

Hailey looked to the cupboard with Adam in it for a second, clearly processing what Jay had told her, before moving over to Vanessa. She grabbed the box next to the one Vanessa had her arm in and rummaged around. Jay watched on as Vanessa pushed her box back into place and went to help Hailey. Soon enough Hailey produced her phone and looked over to Jay, a small smile on her face; this was their ticket out of here.

"Good thing they didn't think to ask where your phone was," Vanessa said as Hailey put the phone to her ear.

Jay agreed. It was a good thing they hadn't properly patted down him or Adam either. If they had felt the vests, who knew how they would have reacted. Holding rival drug dealers was one thing but holding police officers was a different ballgame. Thankfully though they wouldn't have to find out.

Hailey's call to Voight was quick. The wait for backup on the other hand was significantly longer. Adam kept watch throughout, Hailey took care of Vanessa, despite her saying that she was fine, and Jay waited, gun in hand and eyes focused on the door. Mitch had said that he would be back for an answer to his proposition, whatever that was, so who knew if he would turn up before their backup arrived, but if he did Jay knew one thing for sure. There was no way he was letting him take Hailey out of the room again.

He hadn't had a chance to talk to her about what had happened with her and Mitch; he assumed he was imagining far worse than the reality, but he really didn't like the way Mitch looked at her. There would be time for that later though. If she needed him, she would tell him, and he didn't want to distract her from her task at hand. Vanessa kept telling them that she was fine, that it was no big deal, but she had lost quite a lot of blood.

"Guys," Adam called out. "Backup's here."

* * *

Jay handed Hailey the glass as he took a seat on the couch next to her. After the day they'd had, they both needed it. He didn't care that it was five in the morning, he was still wide awake. The adrenaline from the arrests and getting out mostly unscathed meant he would likely be up for a few more hours at least. His face felt sore, his right cheek sporting a shade of purple, so it was either painkillers or tequila to numb the feeling. Given he had already made his decision, Jay took a sip and looked over to Hailey. She downed hers immediately before reaching for the bottle and topping herself up.

"We should talk."

"Yeah," she muttered, one hand pulling at the strings of the oversized hoodie she had borrowed from the hospital. "But for the record, I'm fine."

Jay indicated to the full glass in her hand; it had been a tough one for all of them, but he still didn't know what she had been through. She had headed off to the hospital with Vanessa as he helped process the arrests. And when he'd picked her up, they'd spent the drive talking about Vanessa and what they should do. Knowing Vanessa was going to be fine but would be staying in hospital for observation, they had decided to head back to Hailey's for the night since it was closer.

"Hailey," he started, trying to find the right words as she took another sip of her drink before setting it down on the table. "What happened earlier? What-"

"I thought you were dead for thirty minutes." She cut him off, pulling her legs to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. Jay set his glass down next to hers and moved closer, slowly placing a hand on her knee. She closed her eyes, rubbing a hand over her face before finally opening her mouth again. "I didn't know who was shot, I didn't know you were wearing vests, so I just assumed you were…that they had shot you. All that time I was stuck in the room with Mitch…it was the worst thing I've felt since…"

"Garrett."

Hailey gave a nod before opening her eyes and looking over to him. A moment later he felt her taking his hand in one of hers as the other reached for her glass. She downed the contents before placing it back on the table, though this time she didn't top it up. Jay had almost said something but stopped himself when she leant back against the couch. She seemed so calm as she stared off into the distance. Her hand was still firmly holding onto his so Jay waited and watched. She would speak when she was ready.

"We screwed up," she said when she finally spoke, still not looking at him. "One of us should have stood guard outside, I should have played Mitch better, I-"

"You got us out, Hailey. Hey," he said, finally getting her to look at him. "Your phone. Without that we wouldn't have gotten out so easily. That was smart. Adam and I screwed up getting caught. We were so sure they were gone, but one of them forgot something so they came back and they got the drop on us. So if anyone screwed up, it was us."

"Think we all could have played it better."

She was right, he was sure they would go over it as a team later, work out how to avoid a similar situation in future.

"We made it through," he said as he pulled her over to him until she was sitting in his lap.

She didn't speak to start with, her hand gently tracing the bruise on his face. "Looks painful."

"I'll survive," he told her, holding her gaze.

A moment later she was leaning in and kissing him. Jay reciprocated; he had wanted to do this since she had been pushed back into the room at the club. He had blocked out his concern for the most part, kept himself focused on the situation, but as soon as he saw the way Mitch handled her, he had to fight his instincts. The memories caused him to pull back slightly, his hands resting on her hips.

"Hey uh, when you were with Mitch earlier…did he…did he try anything?"

"No." The reply was instant. Jay knew it was true, but Hailey sat back slightly, her hands resting on his shoulders, her legs still on either side of him. "He was pissed off at the situation, kept talking about what a mistake we'd made. He wanted more information, think he really hated being played by a woman, but turns out he was more concerned about fixing the situation than anything else. Guess he was more worried about his boss at that point."

Jay knew he wasn't doing a good job at hiding his surprise, but they had both read Mitch's file.

"He made some remarks about what he would do later, but." She paused as Jay opened his mouth to speak. He really didn't like this guy. "But he was just talking. He was trying to scare me; didn't realise he'd already done the worst thing he could have done."

She moved her hand lower, letting it rest over his heart. Jay held her gaze for a few moments, their breathing syncing up as they processed how close they had come today. He considered asking for more details of what Mitch had said, but he didn't want to see Hailey suffer any more. He was satisfied that while it wasn't the best situation, they would get over it without any lasting effects.

"Hey, I ever tell you how amazing you are?" he asked, finally seeing a small smile on her face.

"Maybe once."

"Well in that case I'll have to start saying it more often," he said, gaining the desired effect as Hailey's smile grew. "Attractive too. I mean not everyone can pull off the lost and found look, but-"

"Jay," she cut him off, her left hand moving up to cup his cheek.

"You want to go to bed?" He wouldn't be sleeping for a while, but he would hold her while she slept if she was tired.

"Not tired, you?"

He shook his head. "So what do you want to do?"

The smile from before was back as she leaned in and kissed him.

* * *

Jay pulled on his jeans and buckled his belt before looking around for his shirt. He assumed it would be by the side of the bed along with the rest of his clothes, but then vague memories of Hailey taking it off him on the couch surfaced. They had both needed to burn off the excess energy so it had been somewhat primal when they started on the couch, but by the time they got to the bedroom, they had both slowed things down, deciding to take their time.

The memories brought a smile to Jay's face. As much as he had tried to keep Hailey in bed with him earlier so they could repeat the events, she claimed she had things to do. And when Hailey had things to do, nothing was going to get in her way. He had let her go, drifting back off to sleep for a bit before finally getting up and taking a shower. He wasn't sure what Hailey had been up to, but he knew he should get dressed and make himself useful, and for that he needed his shirt. Trying to remember exactly where Hailey had thrown it, Jay headed out of her room and down the hall. He could smell the coffee and bacon coming from the kitchen already.

"Hey, have you seen my shirt?" he asked as he walked into the kitchen to find the item in question already in his line of vision.

Only instead of Hailey having it, it was dangling from Vanessa's hand as she turned to face him.

"Halstead?"

Jay glanced to Hailey who seemed to be in a similar state of shock. Maybe they could have played this off if he had been fully dressed. But him walking into the kitchen with damp hair, just wearing his jeans, and asking Hailey for the shirt he had been wearing yesterday was not going to be easy to explain.


	9. Excuses

"Who's up for Molly's?" Adam asked.

Hailey kept her eyes on the file in her hands; she needed an excuse now unless-

"I can't. Said I'd help Will with something," Jay explained as Hailey chanced a look at him; his eyes were focused on his screen, not giving anything away, which meant she still needed an excuse.

There was a call of yes from Kev and Kim as Hailey went through her options: she was tired, ill, busy with nonspecific plans.

"I'm in," Vanessa said as Hailey heard the footsteps approaching. A moment later Vanessa perched on the edge of her desk. "Hailey?"

Vanessa looked far too pleased with herself; clearly she already knew the answer.

"I can't. I'm meeting a friend."

"Bring them along, the more the merrier. Plus it is Rojas' first day back. Gotta celebrate her next few weeks on desk duty," Adam said as Hailey watched the growing smile on Vanessa's face. She would pay for this at some point.

"Yeah, well I live with her and I haven't seen my other friend in almost a year, and I don't need you lot interrogating her. I'll be there next time."

The lie slipped out so easily. Everyone seemed to buy it, except the two other people who knew better; the one she was really spending the evening with and the one who was still sat on her desk, gaining far too much enjoyment from this situation. Vanessa wouldn't say anything though, she hadn't since she had caught them three weeks ago. Something Hailey could recall far too easily.

* * *

_Hailey had just finished filing away her mail when she heard Jay head to the shower. He had needed the extra sleep so she had left him to it while she worked through her to-do list, even after his attempts to keep her in bed with him. Knowing that he wouldn't be too long, she flicked on the coffee machine and moved over to the fridge. They hadn't eaten properly since yesterday and it would be nice to have a breakfast without having to rush off to work for once. The thoughts of what they might get up to, along with her focus on cooking, meant that she didn't hear the front door or anyone moving around until Vanessa called out her name._

" _Hey." Was all Hailey managed as she scanned the room briefly, looking for any indications of Jay that Vanessa might pick up on. There was nothing obvious aside from the two mugs Hailey had pulled out. She hadn't grabbed any plates yet and she couldn't hear the shower anymore. "They uh, they let you out already?"_

" _Yeah. I mean it is four and I think they needed the space," Vanessa said as Hailey mentally cursed herself. All her timings were screwed up, she hadn't realised how late it was._

" _Right. You okay? How's the arm?" she asked as she grabbed one of the mugs and put it in the dishwasher, not that Vanessa seemed to be paying attention as she was focused on adjusting her sling. "You know I would have given you a lift if you called?"_

_Plus it would have allowed her to ensure Jay was gone._

" _Oh, don't worry, I'm fine. You know Will? Jay's brother? Well he was heading out at the same time and offered me a lift, figured it was easier," Vanessa explained as she flexed her hand before looking at Hailey who wasn't sure what to say. Her friend seemed completely unphased about being shot, it was an eerily similar attitude to Jay's. "You hungry?"_

_Hailey was confused for a moment until she realised where Vanessa was looking. The eggs and bacon she was cooking for herself and Jay. "Oh yeah, haven't eaten since yesterday lunch. Thought I'd have two meals in one before I get some more sleep. Pretty wiped after yesterday."_

" _Tell me about it. Don't think I can fall asleep just yet though. It cool if I take the TV or are you-"_

" _All yours."_

_That would work. If Vanessa was distracted, she could warn Jay to stay hidden in her room until Vanessa fell asleep. Or potentially she could sneak him out while Vanessa was watching something. Either way, she could make this work, and in future they would just be staying at Jay's._

" _Cool, enjoy the food."_

_It was unlikely given the more pressing issue, but she smiled anyway as Vanessa walked off. Part of her wondered if Jay had heard them, if he was keeping out of sight himself, or if he was still blissfully unaware of Vanessa being home. Knowing there was a chance he could head out here any minute, Hailey turned off the cooker and placed the pan onto a heatproof mat on the counter. She had to warn him now, yet before she had taken more than a few steps, she heard Vanessa moving towards the kitchen._

_Immediately Hailey pivoted and grabbed a plate. By the time Vanessa was stood on the opposite side of the counter, Hailey was dishing up the insane volume of food whilst doing her best not to look in the direction of her room._

" _So," Vanessa dragged out the word. "I found this by the couch."_

_It could have been anything, so Hailey kept a neutral expression as she set the pan down and looked up to see Vanessa holding Jay's shirt. She should have remembered it was in there, she had been the one to take it off him after all. But she could explain this, she could make something up, the lost and found-_

" _Hey, have you seen my shirt?"_

_Hailey closed her eyes for a moment, processing the situation._

" _Halstead?"_

_There could be a good reason for this, she just had to think of it. But then Hailey opened her eyes and looked to Jay; damp hair, wearing nothing but his jeans…because Vanessa was still holding his shirt in her good hand. She had nothing._

" _I take it this is yours?"_

" _Uh yeah," Jay said, causing Vanessa to chuck it over to him._

_He pulled it on immediately as Hailey watched on, she desperately needed an excuse but still nothing came to mind. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Vanessa looking between the two of them, clearly putting the pieces together._

" _So is this some sort of drunken, worried you would die thing?" Vanessa asked as Jay looked to Hailey and raised an eyebrow, causing a small smile to appear on her face. She guessed she would be the one answering. "Or is this the mystery man?"_

_Hailey kept her eyes on Jay for a few more moments before shifting her focus to Rojas. There was no point denying it. There was no excuse that could explain this._

" _It's not a onetime thing," she said, ignoring the grin on Vanessa's face, "but we're not telling anyone yet."_

" _Okay," she said, glancing between the two of them, before leaning over and grabbing a piece of bacon from the plate._

" _Sure, help yourself."_

" _I think one piece is a fair price for keeping this secret." She waved the bacon between the two of them. "Plus, I was shot."_

_Hailey couldn't argue with that so just nodded._

" _How's your arm?" Jay asked, looking more serious than before as Vanessa finished off her stolen food._

" _Fine, your brother sorted me out," she said as she walked past them and over to the fridge. "He said something about you still owing him drinks since you lost a bet or something. Ah, there it is."_

_Hailey shared a quick look with Jay before watching her roommate pull out a yogurt from the fridge. "Well I'm gonna go eat this and watch some trashy TV. Enjoy your breakfast."_

_Without anyone else saying a word, Vanessa grabbed a spoon and headed towards the living room, leaving Jay and Hailey watching after her. Once Hailey heard the TV, she turned back to find Jay already walking over to her._

" _So that was-"_

" _Unexpected," Hailey finished as he came to a halt in front of her. "She won't tell anyone."_

_Jay nodded. "Would it be so bad if people knew?"_

_She appreciated what he was saying, but given both of their histories, she didn't have any real desire to tell other people. "You really want to tell the rest of the team? Tell Voight?"_

_Jay smiled at her, using his hand to cup her face before leaning in to kiss her. When he pulled back, he took her left hand in his. "I'm just saying that I don't expect this to change and at some point they'll find out. So, whenever you're ready to tell people, so am I."_

" _Okay, I just…I don't want it to change anything, you know? I don't want people to see our actions differently," she explained, holding his hand a little tighter, she didn't want him to get the wrong impression. "Can we just keep it like this for now?"_

_Jay ran his thumb along the back of her hand for a moment before speaking. "Yeah."_

_Hailey had a feeling he noticed the relief on her face, but she knew he understood. What they had right now was incredible, it was more than she had hoped for, and she didn't want to risk it. "You're the best."_

" _Oh yeah," he said as she leaned up and kissed him. After a few moments, when she remembered Vanessa was in the next room, she pulled back and indicated to the food_

" _We should probably eat something."_

" _Yeah, build up our strength-"_

" _Nothing else is happening here," she warned him as she pulled away, grabbed another plate, and started dishing up._

" _Never say never," he whispered as he moved behind her and placed a kiss to her neck, causing her to shake her head. "You know you can just come back to mine?"_

" _We'll see, but for now eat something," she told him, handing him a plate._

_Jay took it with a thanks and sat down as Hailey poured them each a coffee. They ate in a comfortable silence, both clearly hungrier than they had first thought. About halfway through her meal, Hailey heard her phone going, the one she had left charging in her bedroom. She knew she had to check it, it really could be anyone, so she quickly excused herself and hurried down the hall._

_Once she had picked up her phone, she saw Voight's name. She assumed they had caught a case and their day off would be cut short, but it turned out he was calling to check on Vanessa. Hailey explained that she was fine, maybe a little too fine, but she would talk to her. That seemed to be enough for Voight, though before he hung up he told her to take the next day off so she could be around Rojas in case she needed anything._

_Hailey knew Voight was right, that she needed to be here for Vanessa. So as tempted as she was to go back to Jay's, she would stay here for the next few days. With the thought clear in her mind, she headed back to the kitchen, ready to tell Jay, but stopped short when she heard Vanessa and Jay talking._

" _Can you open this? Stupid arm…"_

" _Yeah I got it," Jay said. Hailey realised she should just head in, but upon hearing Jay's question she found herself waiting. "First time you got shot?"_

_Vanessa didn't say anything as far as Hailey could tell._

" _I remember the first time I was shot. I kept telling myself that it was no big deal, that I was lucky, that I should just ignore the memories. And when anyone asked me how I was, I told them I was fine, that they didn't need to worry," he explained as Hailey leant back against the wall, he had never told her about the first time he was shot. "I wasn't fine, but I thought if I kept saying it, it would eventually be true."_

_There was a short silence before Jay started talking again._

" _Some people think they can do it all on their own. They think they don't need to talk about it, that they can just ignore the memories and move on, but it's a lot harder to ignore than most people think. Certain things can trigger memories about it and those memories can cause a lot of different things like panic attacks, depression…but if that happens, there are a lot of techniques and people to help."_

_Again there was a small silence but then it was Vanessa who spoke. "Do you have triggers?"_

" _Yeah. But I learnt to deal with them. Helped a lot more when I actually talked to someone about it though."_

" _Hailey?"_

" _Some of it. But as much as I hate to admit it, the counselling helps. So when they offer it to you, you should take it. And it doesn't matter if it takes you a while to actually talk about it, you just gotta show up and try."_

_Hailey felt a small smile come to her face at his words. She remembered when they had first met, how against it he had been and now he was advocating for it. As much as she would be there for Vanessa, she had never been shot. Jay had a much better idea of her mindset, of how she felt, and he was proof of what happened after. Sure Vanessa wasn't in a war like him, but being shot wasn't generally something you just shrugged off._

" _I'll um, I'll keep that in mind," Vanessa said. Hailey assumed that meant she was done as she heard the footsteps, but then they stopped. "Look I appreciate what you said. I do. I just need some time alone first to work it out."_

" _I get it."_

_Hailey couldn't hear anything for a few seconds, but then Vanessa started talking again. "You're a good guy, Jay. And I'm glad you and Hailey finally got your act together. She's been amazing to me and I'm glad she's happy, that you make her happy, but if you do anything to hurt her-"_

" _I won't." Jay cut her off. "And if you ever need to talk about what happened, you know where I am."_

" _Thanks, Jay."_

_As soon as she heard Vanessa moving, Hailey walked back into the kitchen to see Jay looking at her._

" _How much of that did you hear?" he asked as she walked over to him._

" _Enough to know that you should never piss Rojas off," she said as she wrapped her arms around him from behind. "And that you give good advice."_

_Jay wasn't normally so open with people about what he had been through, so this was a big deal, and she was incredibly proud of him._

" _Uh huh," he said as he turned around in her arms, "and that is why I'm advising you to come back to mine tonight. And…you're gonna stay here."_

" _I am."_

* * *

Jay had left shortly after they finished their meal. Hailey knew he understood, and she knew she had made the right decision when her and Rojas had ended up talking late into the night. It had taken a while for Vanessa to open up about how she was really feeling, she kept deflecting with other topics like Jay, but eventually Hailey had gotten the real picture from her. The next day she had helped Vanessa get her first appointment with someone Jay recommended. Since then Hailey had seen her making progress every day; physically and mentally.

"I take it I have the place to myself tonight," Vanessa whispered, casting a not so subtle look at Jay, causing Hailey to bite her tongue before speaking.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she told her, thankful that the others were too busy getting ready to notice anything else.

Hailey didn't miss the grin on Vanessa's face as she left with the others, but she would not react to it. She had more important things on her mind, like the dinner her and Jay had planned. There wasn't a special occasion, at least not one she was aware of, but Jay had suggested going out to a nice restaurant and she liked the sound of it. Given their jobs, a lot of their time was spent at each other's apartments after a long day at work. And even on their days off, there were normally a million things to catch up on after a busy case, so it was nice to do something more like a normal couple would do.

Knowing she was done for the night, Hailey dropped the file onto her desk and looked to Jay who was still busy staring at his screen. Curious as to what had his attention, she glanced around the room, ensuring no one else was there, before getting up and moving over to him.

"You okay?" she asked, placing a hand on his shoulder as she looked at his screen.

He was reading one of the victim's statements from the latest case. She had been the one to take it, it was the kind that stuck with you, but they had caught the guy responsible for hurting the woman, and all the others. Voight was in the process of transferring him out of the station now, and he would never be free again given the charges against him. Yet Jay still seemed to be focused on the details, so she squeezed his shoulder and called his name, finally gaining his attention. This case had gotten to him, he'd found two of the women, seen first-hand what the guy had done to them.

"Sorry," he muttered, placing his hand over hers. "Five minutes?"

She gave a nod and started to move away as she heard the footsteps coming from the corridor.

"You two still here?" Voight asked as he walked towards them and his office. "Thought you'd be at Molly's with the rest."

"Meeting Will in a bit so figured I'd just finish up," Jay said, gaining a nod from Voight who was now looking at her.

"I'm seeing a friend, was just heading out," she explained, continuing the lie from earlier. Voight wouldn't care about her friend, but it was believable at least. "You going?"

"I have plans. Have a good evening," he said before walking into his office.

Jay mouthed five minutes to her, causing a smile to appear on her face as she shut off her PC. Once it was done, she headed to the locker room and grabbed her bag before going to meet Jay at the truck. He took a little longer than the five minutes he had originally told her, but he explained that Voight had come to speak to him, to ensure he would be able to let the case go. Apparently the slightly sceptical look on Hailey's face was not too dissimilar to the one Voight had worn, but Jay assured her that he was fine. Hailey took him at his word as they got into the truck and headed back to his place, the car-park was not the place to have the discussion.

Ever since Vanessa had caught them, they had been more careful around each other at work, not wanting anyone else to catch on. Plus, they had agreed that having a clear separation between work and home was the best thing given their past relationships. It was easier said than done depending on the case, though they were making it work. In fact, by the time they had made it to the restaurant, Jay's attitude had completely shifted, and Hailey knew hers had too. Gone were the memories of the case, instead all of her thoughts centred on the man sitting opposite her, studying the menu.

"Can I get you some drinks to start with?" the waiter asked, looking to Jay.

"Oh yeah, but you better ask her, she knows way more than me," Jay said with a smile as he looked up and met her eyes, causing her to mirror his expression.

Jay had called her a wine snob when they arrived at their table and had handed her the menu straight away. She had called him uneducated in response before finding one she knew he would like.

"So what can I get you?"

Hailey read off the one she had picked out, ignoring Jay's looks. Apparently, the fact that she could pronounce it properly made her more of a wine snob. The waiter approved of her choice though, so she took that as a win as she ordered her food. Once Jay had placed his order too, and the waiter was gone, she found Jay was still wearing the smug grin on his face.

"Something to say?" she asked.

"Nope…although…" but he trailed off.

"What?"

"You look incredible."

She had made something of an effort given the rather expensive restaurant Jay had booked for them, because there was no way her usual jeans and boots would cut it in here. And while she normally preferred the more practical clothing, she certainly enjoyed seeing Jay's reaction.

"Thanks," she said as she looked him over; he definitely wore a suit well. "Not looking so bad yourself."

"We might have to do this more often then."

"Think we could manage that," she said as she reached over and took his hand.

It was refreshing not having to second guess her actions or look over her shoulder in public for once. Because right now they weren't detectives, they weren't colleagues trying to remain professional, they were just a couple out on a date. And that's how their evening went. They ate, they drank, they talked, and they laughed, they really laughed. Given the case, Hailey was happy seeing Jay like this; carefree and making jokes. She had realised that he tended to keep this side of himself away from the office a lot, opting for a more serious and professional attitude, which she understood, but she really enjoyed this side of him. It encouraged her to be more light-hearted too.

"Can I interest you in some desserts?" the waiter asked as he cleared their plates away.

"Definitely," they said in unison.

There was no way they could pass up the chance if it was anything like the rest of the food. The waiter nodded and headed off to fetch them some menus as Jay picked up his glass and held it out in front of him.

"To my excellent choice in restaurants."

"And your modesty," she said as she tapped her glass against his.

"If you wanted modesty…" But Hailey didn't hear the rest as she spotted a familiar face across the room. "Hailey? What-"

"Voight." Was all she managed, keeping her eyes on their boss as he chatted with the people he had arrived with. As far as Hailey could tell they were other Sergeants, she recognised a few of them. But thankfully it didn't seem as though he had seen them yet. "We gotta go."

"Before dessert? He seems like he's busy, he probably won't even see us." Hailey shifted her focus to Jay, letting him see how serious she was. "Okay, guess we can get something on the way back."

He seemed disappointed but she really wasn't ready for Voight to know about them, especially as they had both lied to him about their plans this evening. And Jay was right, he did look busy, but given their proximity, she was already thinking of excuses as to why she and Jay were here in case he did spot them.

When the waiter came back, instead of looking at what would have been an amazing set of desserts, Jay asked for the bill. It didn't take too long, but Hailey kept her eyes on Voight the whole time he was in view. He seemed busy talking to an older man before their group was led to another section of the restaurant. Hailey was fairly sure they were safe then, yet as she was waiting by the entrance she heard her name from the one voice she was dreading.

"Hey Sarge," she said once she had turned around and plastered on a fake smile.

There were at least six other people around her that she had been using for cover, but of course he had managed to spot her. Small mercies meant that Jay was currently grabbing their coats, but she knew he would be back shortly.

"Small world. Must be a good friend of yours to end up here," Voight said.

"Oh yeah, she-"

"Got them, line was crazy," Jay said as Hailey chanced a glance at him. He obviously hadn't spotted Voight given the other people around her, but as soon as Voight turned around, Jay stopped dead in his tracks.

"Halstead," Voight greeted him in a tone that conveyed nothing, and that's what worried Hailey. Had he seen them earlier? Did he already know what was going on? Or could her excuse still work? "I thought you were with Will tonight?"

"Uh yeah-"

"He bailed," Hailey said, causing both men to look at her. "Just like Lilly, my friend. I'd been looking forward to this place, and I still owe him a birthday present, so figured why not kill two birds with one stone."

Voight turned back to Jay for a moment before giving a nod. "Good to have friends like this."

"Yeah, who doesn't love being a backup?" Jay said.

"Don't worry, next time I'll bring Rojas," Hailey said, hoping their usual work like banter would sell the story.

"I take it back, I'll be a backup to this place any day," Jay said as Hailey looked to Voight while Jay continued. "The steak was amazing."

"I'll keep that in mind," Voight said, "anyway I need to talk to the maître d'. Enjoy the rest of your evening."

"You too," Hailey said as Jay offered a similar sentiment.

As soon as Voight walked away, Jay handed Hailey her coat. They shared a look, not sure if their boss had bought the excuse, but both knew better than to discuss it until they were clear of the restaurant. Jay said the cab he'd ordered was just around the corner. Hailey nodded, automatically keeping a professional distance between them. As much as she wanted to walk over to him and show him how much she had enjoyed the evening, her mind was still focused on what had just happened.

Had they made a mistake lying to Voight? Should they have come clean to him? What would happen when he found out? Because Jay was right, their relationship was not going to change, so at some point Voight would know they had lied to him, if he didn't already.

"Hailey," Jay called out, breaking her out of her thoughts, as a car pulled up.

He opened the door for her, indicating for her to get in. Hailey gave a quick thanks as she scooted over to the other side, allowing Jay to follow. The cabbie confirmed that they were still headed to Jay's before pulling away. He seemed to be a chatty guy, and quickly brought up the latest Cubs game which Jay engaged him on. Hailey wasn't sure if it was a blessing or not given how she was still being overly cautious with their interactions, but at least they weren't sitting in silence.

"So how was your evening? I mean that's a nice restaurant, any special occasion?"

"It was amazing," she said before Jay had a chance to speak. She knew he didn't want to hide their relationship; she knew he was disappointed that she had cut the meal short and lied to Voight, but she also knew that he was doing it because she had asked him to. "No occasion, just a great boyfriend."

He had a small smile on his face when she turned to look at him; it was one he normally wore when she caught him watching her at home, the one which caused her to match his expression as he reached across and took her hand in his.

"Looks like you picked yourself a good one," the cabbie told her, but Hailey had no intention of taking her eyes off Jay as she brushed her thumb along the back of his hand.

"Well she's worth it," he said, "most of the time."

That got a laugh out of the cabbie as Hailey shook her head slightly, before deciding on her next course of action. Thankfully the cabbie went back to talking about sports which Jay kindly chatted with him about as Hailey pulled out her phone. They had missed out on dessert at the restaurant, but she knew a great place near Jay's which delivered. She figured it would be a nice surprise for him but decided to order it to arrive in an hour's time. She had a feeling they would be slightly busy when they first got into Jay's apartment. The looks he had been giving her, along with the way he wore his suit, was enough for Hailey to know that there would not be much talking as soon as they got through the door.

As the cabbie continued chatting with Jay, Hailey noticed Jay looking over to her. She knew he was curious as to what she was up to, but he didn't ask; instead he carried on his conversation with their driver for the last few minutes. Though as soon as the cab pulled away and they were walking up to Jay's, he asked what she had been up to, and why she had left him to do all the talking. She had told him not to worry, and that she didn't need him to talk anymore, as she grabbed his hand and led him to his place. Jay had laughed at first but shut up as soon as they were inside. For some reason she couldn't stop herself because as soon as the door had shut, she pushed him back against the wall and placed her lips to his.

* * *

Hailey moved her finger left along his shoulder to the first, then up to the second, left to the third and down to the fourth before Jay spoke up.

"What exactly are you doing?" he asked as Hailey refocused her gaze to his. He was laying down on his front, his arms cushioning his head which was turned to face her.

She moved her finger down and left to the fifth and sixth, feeling the slight sweat still coating his body.

"Making a rabbit."

"What?"

"Your freckles," she explained, moving to the seventh, "it's just like the constellations."

Jay closed his eyes, shaking his head slightly. "You're lucky I like you."

She laughed as she finished tracing the outline. "You never had anyone do that before?"

"No," he said as he rolled onto his side and pulled her body against his. "You're something special."

"Well, that's a good thing."

She didn't give him a chance to say anything though as she kissed him. It was hard not to when they ended up in this position, lying naked together, enjoying the come down of their previous activities. And as with a lot of times, what started off as a reasonably innocent kiss was quickly turning into something more.

"Thought you…needed five…minutes," Hailey manged to get out in between kisses.

"I can…think of something…to pass the time," he said before he started kissing his way down her body.

Yet before he reached his destination, the sound of someone knocking at the door stopped him. Jay seemed confused as he looked up to her.

"I think that's your surprise," she said.

"Is this what you were up to in the cab?"

She gave a quick nod before getting out of bed. She was about to tell him to get dressed and follow her, but then she realised that having it in bed would be more fun.

"Stay here and I'll be right back," she told him, quickly chucking on his sweats and one of his t-shirts. She couldn't be bothered to find a bra or her clothes when she was just grabbing a delivery.

"I think can do that," Jay said as he moved back on the bed and leant against the headrest.

Hailey just smiled at him before walking out of his room and over to the door. She ran a hand through her hair a few times, trying to make it less obvious as to what she had just been up to. It helped a little, but her hair was not easy to tame so she gave up and opened the door after a second round of knocking.

"About time, Jay. I was-Hailey?" Will said as Hailey locked eyes with him.

And just like that, she needed another excuse.


	10. Should have known

Jay scratched the back of his neck as he heard the second round of knocking; it seemed the delivery guy was in a hurry. Not that he minded, he was curious to see what Hailey had ordered them for dessert. Even though she had said it was a surprise, he couldn't think of anything else she would have ordered at this time of night, and now he was even more intrigued since she had told him to stay in bed rather than go with her. Maybe she had a plan involving it or maybe they would just eat it cuddled up together. Either way he was on board.

Knowing he had a minute until Hailey returned, Jay leant over and retrieved his phone from the pocket of his trousers, the ones which had been discarded on the floor long ago. He had no intention of ruining the mood by checking his messages, but the battery had been running low earlier so he needed to plug it in just in case they got a call. Yet when he picked it up, he caught sight of the number of texts and missed calls from Will and suddenly he no longer cared about the mood.

He hit play on the last missed call as he sat up straight and put the phone to his ear. Will was never this desperate to get hold of him which meant something was wrong. Maybe his brother had been injured or needed help, but he stopped thinking as the voicemail started playing.

" _Okay, now I'm getting worried about you. I'm coming over and I hope you have a good explanation. Seriously, Jay. Call me."_

There were several other calls from earlier in the night but given what Will had just said, his thumb instinctively hit the return call button. It rung for a second before Jay heard the familiar ringtone from inside his flat. As his mind played catchup with what was going on, the sound was suddenly replaced by his brother's voice.

"Hey, Jay. Wanna join us?"

Will had said he was coming over, his ringtone had just come from inside the flat, and he had said us…

Jay hung up and hopped out of bed. He prayed by us he just meant him and Hailey, and not anyone else, but there was only one way to be sure. After grabbing a new pair of sweatpants and pulling them on, he rushed out of his room and towards the front door, coming to a halt at the sight that greeted him.

Will and Hailey were stood on opposite sides of the hall, the wide-open front door between them, but thankfully it was just them. A second later they were both looking at him, and then Will was walking over to him as Hailey ran a hand through her hair. Jay wasn't sure what to expect but then Will punched his shoulder.

"Ow," Jay said, his hand instinctively going to rub the spot since it had been slightly harder than a playful punch.

"That was for scaring the hell out of me for no reason," Will said. "I thought something serious had happened to you."

Jay still hadn't managed to work out exactly why that was; he didn't tend to reply to Will straight away on the best of days. And his brother got that, knew that he could be working or busy so what the hell had triggered him? Jay assumed the other messages on his phone would explain, but it was probably easier to ask at this point.

"What uh-"

"Next time you want to use me as an excuse at least give me a heads up," Will said as suddenly everything started falling into place.

"You went to Molly's?" Jay asked, gaining a nod from Will.

"And imagine my surprise when I get asked where you are since apparently we had been together all evening because you were helping me out with something," Will said as Jay felt a small smile forming on his lips. "It was assembling a bookcase if anyone asks."

Jay couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow at the lie.

"I couldn't think of anything better and figured there was a good reason you had used me as an excuse," Will said, glancing over at Hailey who seemed content quietly watching their exchange.

Jay considered asking her to come over and be part of the conversation properly, but then Will looked back at him, seeming less annoyed, and Jay knew he owed him an apology. "Sorry, man. Didn't think it through."

The whole sneaking around behind people's backs was getting harder the longer they did it, but it was what Hailey wanted, so he would do it. Though given how Will had found them, there was no excuse that would explain this. Will bobbed his head in acceptance of the apology, seeming ready to say something else but he didn't get a chance as a knock at the door distracted them all.

"Uh, your order," the delivery guy said, holding out a bag.

He seemed confused by the situation he had stumbled upon, which Jay didn't blame him for. The front door was still wide open, the three of them were stood in the hall, and then there was his current half undressed state.

Hailey took the bag with a thanks and quickly closed the door before walking past Jay and Will, mentioning something about dealing with it. Jay let his eyes follow her until she disappeared into the kitchen before looking back to Will and the smug grin on his face.

"So are you two together then?"

Jay couldn't keep the smile off his face; it was nice to be able to tell someone the truth, especially Will.

"Yeah. Yeah, we are," he said. "Just keeping it quiet for now with the whole working together thing."

"I get it, just please give me a heads up if I'm being used as a cover for you two so I know you're not doing something stupid and instead just…" But he didn't finish, instead gesturing to Jay's room, causing Jay to let out a short laugh.

"I will, and thanks."

"Well, it's about time. I'm happy for you, for both of you. And you have certainly been in a better mood for a while now. How uh, how long has this thing been going on?"

"About three months."

It clearly wasn't the answer Will had expected. Jay guessed it meant that while they had screwed up tonight, they weren't half bad detectives given that Will was only the second person to find out. He was expecting a smart-arse quip from his brother but instead got a pat on his shoulder and a nod of approval.

"I should get out of the way, let you two get back to it," Will said, gesturing to the door.

"Yeah, sorry about scaring you, but nice to know you care," Jay said, gaining a slight head shake from Will. "I'll catch up with you another time."

"Oh yeah, you owe me a number of beers for this."

"How about some dessert?" Immediately Jay turned back to see Hailey stood in the doorway to the kitchen with two plates of desserts. There were some slices of cake, cheesecake, and some other treats. "I may have ordered a bit more than we needed. Consider it repayment for Jay scaring you."

"Uh, kinda both our fault," he said in his defence.

"Well you used Will as an excuse, I made up a fake friend, so kinda your fault," she said before focusing on Will. "What do you say?"

"You sure? I don't want to interrupt."

"We're good for now." She winked at Jay before walking into the living room and setting the plates down.

Jay couldn't help but chew his bottom lip as he watched Hailey. Sure they were good for now but after Will left he was going to show her that he didn't need the break.

"Oh, you have got it bad," Will said, patting Jay's shoulder as he walked past him and over to Hailey who handed him one of the plates. "So does this mean I get the story of what happened between you two?"

Jay ignored Will's previous comment and followed him over to the couch. He took a seat next to Hailey who was busy pulling a blanket over herself. Without asking, she wrapped it across him too before leaning over and picking up the plate on the coffee table. Once she had taken a bite of one of the pieces of cake, she looked to Jay expectantly.

Initially he thought she was going to offer him some, but she just stared at him. "What?"

"Will wants to know what happened. I told Rojas so-"

"Wait. Rojas knows?" Will asked.

It wasn't one of Jay's fondest memories, he had been slightly concerned at the time about what would happen, but things had turned out to be fine, if not better. "Yeah she found out."

"Because you walked out half dressed, asking me where your shirt was."

"So the not wearing a shirt thing is more common these days then?"

"Shut up," Jay told his brother.

"Some of us aren't complaining," Hailey chipped in, taking another bite of cake as Jay wrapped his arm around her. "Anyway, your turn."

Jay did what was requested and explained the story of how they had gotten together to Will. He may have exaggerated some parts about how Hailey came on to him, which she called him out on, but Will got the gist of it. And for something Jay had thought might turn into an awkward situation, it ended up being a lot of fun. Hailey and Will seemed to get on far too well when embarrassing him, though they all took turns teasing each other as they ate way too much cake.

* * *

The next morning Jay walked up the stairs and through the office five minutes after Hailey had left his truck, just as she had asked. It seemed he was the last one there since he was greeted with good mornings and nods from the rest of the team as he made his way over to his desk.

"Don't get comfy," Voight said as he stepped out of his office, "we've got a homicide."

Jay gave a nod, glancing briefly at Hailey who was already standing up, before focusing back to Voight to find out what was going on.

"Okay, we have two witnesses, two young girls. They're on their way to Med. Hailey, go with Kim and take their statements or see what you can get out of them," Voight said, not bothering to look at anyone in particular. "Jay, you and Kev get down to the morgue, they took the body there last night. Adam, Vanessa, you're with me."

Jay shared a quick look with Hailey who seemed just as surprised at the change. He considered saying something, but now wasn't the right time. Maybe he shouldn't read into it. Maybe the partnering was just because of the case, but then he knew Voight, and he had caught them at dinner last night, so there could easily be something more to it.

Without another word, Jay walked over to Kev and out towards the truck. They both climbed in before Jay started the engine and began the drive towards the morgue. Thankfully they ended up talking about the case rather than the current partner situation. Not that Jay minded working with Kevin. Kev was a great cop, it was just Voight never really paired the two of them together and Jay had a feeling that meant something.

It wasn't like he could do anything about it now though, so he just focused on working the case. They got to the morgue and got the details on the victim before updating the team about the cause of death. It seemed to help, but Jay still couldn't shake the feeling that something more was going on when he spoke with Voight over the phone. The way he spoke, the subtle digs, it was giving him flashbacks to when he and Erin had first started something.

He didn't want to go through that again. Once he and Hailey were back in the office, they would talk and figure out what to do. Until then he needed to remain professional. He had a feeling Kevin already knew something was up, but thankfully he hadn't actually said anything. Instead he kept their discussion around the case as they drove back to the station.

The office was empty when they got back, but they had enough work to be getting on with until the rest of the team returned. Kev said something about making a call to the jeweller regarding the victim's watch as he sat down at his desk. Jay just nodded as he walked towards his own desk before realising that they weren't completely alone. Voight was sat in his office, reading over a file.

It probably wasn't the right time, and maybe he was overthinking it, but Jay couldn't help himself. He walked straight in and shut the door. Voight looked up at the sound of the door clicking into place. He didn't seem too surprised as he dropped his pen down on the desk and leant back in his chair.

"Something I can help you with?"

"This change up, it's just for this case, right?"

Voight considered his words for a moment. "Haven't decided yet."

"Sarge, look me and Hailey work really well together."

"I know that, Jay."

"So why swap us again? First Rojas and now this?"

"Didn't realise I had to explain myself to you." Jay shook his head slightly; he had played this wrong. "Something you want to say?"

He considered it for a moment before shaking his head again. He was certain he hadn't helped the situation and he didn't want to risk making it any worse.

"Well if you change your mind, you know where I am," Voight said as he picked up his pen. "Better to be honest sometimes though. Secrets don't tend to end well."

As Jay walked out of the room, he saw Hailey and Kim coming up the stairs. He caught Hailey's eye and indicated to the hall. Hailey didn't give any acknowledgement, but she whispered something to Kim before walking out. Jay gave it a few seconds before following after her. She wasn't where he expected her to be, but he soon found her waiting for him in the locker room.

"What was that about?" she asked.

"Voight knows."

"Did he say that?"

"No but he knows, trust me," he explained as Hailey let out a deep breath before leaning back against the locker. "You okay?"

She nodded, but Jay knew the mask she was putting on. "Guess it was fifty fifty after last night. So is this change permanent then?"

"I don't know. He said he hasn't decided yet. Look, I know you don't want to but-"

"We have to tell him," she finished for him as he nodded. "What if he asks one of us to leave?"

The thought had crossed his mind, but he knew the answer, so he moved over and took her hand in his. He wasn't willing to give up what they had, no matter what. "Then we'll figure it out. I just know I don't want to lose us."

Hailey took a moment before giving a nod. "Me neither."

Jay offered her a smile before leaning in for a quick kiss. His nerves were mostly settled after hearing she was on the same page and he knew what he needed to do. "I'll go talk to him now."

He started to move away before feeling Hailey's hand pull him back. "We should both do it."

"Okay," he said before letting go of her hand and walking out of the room.

The rest of the team were gathered around the board when they walked back in. Adam was running them through what he and Vanessa had found at the crime scene. Jay noticed the way Voight studied them as they both came to a halt behind Kim, but he didn't say anything.

The briefing continued and at the end they were all assigned their tasks. Jay shared a look with Hailey, both deciding to wait until the day was over before they talked to their boss. Having the conversation now, especially after how Jay had played it earlier, would likely just fuel the argument of keeping them with their new partners, if not something worse.

So Jay kept his head down for the rest of the day and focused on the job until Voight told them to call it for the night. Even with all the work they had put in, it was still going to take a while to find the shooter and staying up all night wasn't going to help at this point. Reluctantly, the rest of the team accepted the decision.

There was a call for Molly's and Hailey agreed to head down for one drink. Jay considered leaving the conversation with Voight until they solved the murder, but clearly Voight knew, and Jay didn't want it looming throughout the rest of the case. He needed to know where they stood.

"You coming?" Kev asked as he pulled on his coat, causing Jay to remove his focus from Voight's office and turn to his temporary partner.

"Yeah I'll meet you down there, just need to talk to Voight about something."

"Alright," Kev said as he patted Jay's back before following Adam and Vanessa, who were leading the charge, down the stairs.

Jay slowly walked towards Voight's office door. He knew Hailey wanted to be part of the conversation but her and Kim were still huddled around Hailey's computer. So instead of going through the open door, he took a seat at his desk instead.

"Okay, I think that's it," Kim said as Jay watched the two of them. Hailey gave a nod, still seeming focused on whatever they had been writing up. "Time for that drink."

"Yeah, I just need to talk to Voight about something, I'll meet you down there," Hailey said.

Clearly she was on the same page as he was about not wanting to wait on this, which brought a small smile to his face until he looked away and saw Kim watching him.

"You coming?" she asked.

"Yeah, just need to finish something up and I'll be there."

Jay didn't miss the way she looked between the two of them as she agreed before heading back to her desk. Maybe he was getting worse at acting like there was nothing going on between them because he was fairly sure Kev and Kim had their suspicions now. Or maybe they had had them for a while and he just hadn't noticed before.

"Hey," Hailey said, looking around the side of her monitor to him once Kim was gone. "Shall we do this?"

Part of him really didn't want to, worried about what Voight might do, but then he reminded himself that Voight had let things slide before, and he and Hailey were in this for the long haul. This wasn't a hook-up or a fling, this was it for him, so he would do what needed to be done.

"Yeah," he said as he pushed himself out of his chair and followed Hailey.

She knocked on the open door, gaining Voight's attention from the report he had been reading. He didn't say anything as he gestured for them to take a seat, not seeming surprised that they were both here.

"So who wants to go first?" Voight asked once it had turned into an awkward silence.

"We're dating," they said in unison.

It caused a small smile to appear on Voight's face as he looked between the two of them, not seeming at all surprised.

"Well, that I know. Want to know what else I know?" Neither Jay nor Hailey spoke, it was better to let Voight continue. "I know when Jay's birthday is, and I also happen to know that you took him to see a Blackhawks game."

They probably should have realised that. Jay had certainly mentioned it around the office after receiving the tickets from Hailey so of course Voight would have noticed.

"You know," Voight continued as he leant back in his chair. "I used to have this rule about relationships in my unit."

Jay swallowed hard at the statement, memories of Voight warning him against dating Erin coming front and centre. He had been foolish to think that just talking to Voight and being honest would make it okay. Given everything that had happened relationship wise in the unit recently, Jay got the feeling that Voight was considering reinstating the rule.

"It's not the first for either of you," Voight said as Jay held his tongue; it was better to let Voight say his peace first. "And I don't like it when things get complicated."

"It won't make things complicated," Hailey said.

"Don't think I didn't notice your earlier chat, distracting you from the case, after someone came to ask me about the change in partners," Voight said as Jay bowed his head.

That had been a stupid move on his part. He should have been calmer, but now the only impression Voight had of their relationship was them lying to him last night, him acting less rational than usual about the partner situation, and now this. Jay had a feeling he knew where this was going, this wasn't a sign some HR paperwork kind of thing, this was a someone transfers out of the unit kind of thing.

"Look, Sarge," Hailey started. "This isn't just some fun; we've been dating for the past three months. Maybe we should have said something earlier, but we wanted to prove that it wouldn't affect our jobs. And if you think back over the past three months, you'll realise we haven't done anything differently."

"Three months?" Voight asked causing Jay to nod.

He wasn't sure but it seemed like Voight was surprised by that information, not that he would actually say it. No one spoke for a few moments. Hailey had said her peace, Voight was considering the information, and Jay didn't think he could add anything more to what Hailey had said to convince Voight. So they all embraced the silence until Voight sat back up straight.

"Well I guess we all have some things to think about," Voight said. "It's been a long day, you should get out of here, get some rest."

Reluctantly Jay got up and walked out of the room, Hailey following behind him. There was nothing more they could do about it tonight so he grabbed his coat from the back of his chair and pulled it on before noticing that Hailey was watching him. The disappointment was clear in her eyes. He guessed this was part of the reason she hadn't wanted to tell anyone earlier, and it made Jay certain of the decision he had made a minute ago.

"I'm just gonna get my bag, meet you downstairs?"

"Yeah." He offered her a small smile before she walked off.

Yet instead of heading towards the exit, he walked back into Voight's office.

"Jay, I-"

"I'll do it," he cut his boss off. "If you're going back to your old rule, then transfer me out."

"Really?"

"I think it's a mistake, we've proved we work well together even though we're in a relationship. The other week at the bank when I could have picked Hailey over the hostages, I didn't. A couple of months ago when I went against your orders, Hailey called me out and still told you. But if you're gonna do it, then I'm going, not her."

"Understood. Now go home, Jay."

* * *

"Hey," Hailey said softly as she nudged his foot with hers under the table, "you good?"

They hadn't spoken much on their way to Molly's, and Jay had barely said a word since they arrived, but his mind was too busy. He just kept replaying their conversation with Voight on a loop. He had analysed the words multiple times, recalled Voight's expressions, and spent far too long trying to work out how this was going to end, but he still couldn't call it.

"Yeah," he said, finishing the rest of his drink and looking around at the rest of their group.

Everyone seemed to be in a good mood, laughing and joking with each other even after the day they had had. And then Vanessa had her arm around Hailey, as Kev held out a shot to her.

"Come on, Upton," Kevin said.

"I bet Kev that I could out drink him, so now I need backup," Vanessa explained as Hailey took the glass from Kev with a laugh.

"That seems like a dumb idea," Hailey said.

"Which is why I let her have some backup, and she chose you," Kevin explained as he held his glass out. "And she's a couple behind."

The three of them tapped their glasses together before knocking back the liquid and making the face that normally accompanied it.

Jay couldn't stop his growing smile as he watched Hailey laughing with Vanessa, and then Kim and Adam as she explained the situation. Just seeing her like this was enough for him to know he had made the right decision. She got on so well with the rest of them, he couldn't have her leave because of him.

When she looked back at him, he saw the confusion on her face at his current state, but he played it off as he stood up and announced that he was getting everyone another round, even though he had brought the last one. There were a couple of offers to get it instead, but he shrugged them off and headed to the bar.

It seemed his team weren't the only ones to notice as Herrmann asked him what the occasion was while he was getting his order ready. Again Jay told him nothing in particular, and made some small talk with him until Vanessa joined him at the bar.

"I need five more shots."

"Please tell me they ain't all for you," Herrmann said, gaining a smile from Vanessa.

"Nope, Hailey said she'll do two if I only do one," she explained before turning to Jay and failing to whisper. "You're welcome."

Herrmann looked a little confused but didn't comment as he carried on getting their drinks ready.

"Think you might want some water with these drinks?" Jay asked, catching Herrmann's eye who seemed to agree that water would be provided regardless of her answer.

"No, water is for weak people. And I'm gonna beat Kev because if I do, I get to drive the next time we're partnered together."

"I see. Smart move challenging him to a drinking contest."

"Well maybe I'm not as drunk as I seem and the idiot has agreed to let it be two versus one," Vanessa said as she pulled out the cash for the shots, suddenly sounding far more sober than a minute ago, causing Jay to furrow his brow. "Or maybe I'm just drunk. Can you bring these over? Thanks."

Jay ran a hand over his face as he tried to process what had just happened, but then Herrmann started talking to him again, so he focused on that instead. There weren't many other customers around so the two of them ended up talking for a while, which was apparently too long for the drinks as Adam helpfully grabbed them for the rest of the table.

Jay knew he should probably head back over to his group, but he was enjoying catching up with Herrmann since he hadn't spoken to anyone from 51 in a while. Jay guessed he was gone for too long though when Hailey suddenly appeared by his side and set the empty shot glasses down on the bar.

"You ditching us?" she asked as he turned to face her properly, noticing the slightly glazed look.

"No."

"Good, because I miss you," she whispered causing a smile to grace his face.

Hailey wasn't usually this forward. It seemed the shots were hitting her, but he liked that she was having fun and letting loose given everything else going on.

"I'm always here for you," he told her, keeping his voice low so no one else could overhear. "Even if I get transferred-"

"Not you," she said before noticing the confusion on his face. "So I have a confession."

"Go on."

"While you were waiting for me downstairs, I talked to Voight again. And I told him to pick me if-"

"Hailey-"

"Just let me explain," she said. While he wanted to save her the trouble, he gave a nod. "I always knew this was a possibility, Platt brought it up a while ago, and I guess it was part of the reason I wanted to be so careful, but I know I don't want to give this up, so I made my decision and…why are you smiling?"

"Because I did the same thing," he said, setting his beer bottle down on the side and taking her hand in his. "Didn't want this to change and I didn't want you to have to move."

"Jay-" But she didn't get a chance to finish as he leaned down and kissed her.

Maybe they should have talked about it more, maybe he should have checked that she was okay letting everyone else know, but after finding out what she had done, he couldn't stop himself. Besides, if Voight transferred one of them they would have to explain soon enough anyway.

"Sorry," he muttered when he pulled back, only to see the grin on her face.

"Don't be," she said as she leaned back in and pushed her lips to his.

It was a little longer than the first, but given where they were, neither of them wanted to take it too far. Jay knew the rest of the team would have spotted them by now, but he kept his eyes on Hailey's for a while longer.

"Five minutes of whatever that is gonna be and then we leave," she said, tilting her head to where the rest of the team were sitting.

"Deal."

He was more than happy to leave at this point, but he knew they would never hear the end of it if they didn't face the rest of the team now. So after taking her hand in his, and picking up his beer, they both headed back to the table to find four sets of eyes watching them.

"You're gonna need to clarify something for us," Adam said as they came to a halt at the end of the table. "That was just like a friendly kiss, right?"

"Friendly kiss? There's no such thing and it's definitely not what that was," Vanessa said, holding out her hand. "Just pay up."

"Betting on us?" Jay asked; he hadn't been expecting this.

"You've both been weirdly happy the last two weeks," Kim explained as she handed over a twenty to Vanessa. "Like smiling all the time and touching each other more."

"And then Voight did the partner switch up and we figured he'd noticed too," Kevin chipped in as he handed over two twenties to Vanessa. "Just didn't know how long it was gonna take before either of you made a move."

"Yeah, only this one thought something would happen this week," Adam said, indicating to Vanessa who seemed ecstatic at her winnings.

Jay shared a look with Hailey who seemed just as amused as he was at this.

"You really think either of us would make the first move in here, in front of all of you?" Jay asked. "Give us some credit."

"The bet was on it becoming public. I said something happened the other week, after the bank robbery," Kim explained.

"I said two weeks ago after the car trouble," Kevin said, air quoting around car trouble. "Because you two seemed far too happy about that."

"It really was car trouble," Hailey explained, squeezing Jay's hand as he bit back a smile.

That was the truth, though he hadn't minded getting stuck with Hailey, and they had certainly found a few ways to fill the time that he wouldn't do with any of the others.

"I assumed you were both still waiting," Adam said, taking a sip of his drink. "Figured we had at least a month until anything became public."

A moment later all eyes landed on Vanessa who clearly hadn't been paying too much attention because she was too busy putting her winnings away.

"Hold up," Kevin said, looking to Jay and Hailey and then back at Vanessa. "Did you know something?"

"Define something?"

"Of course. That explains why she was so confident, should have known," Adam said, shaking his head. "You know that's basically insider trading?"

"I just knew they were together; I was just as in the dark as the rest of you about when it would become public," Vanessa explained. "So I think it's completely fair. And to show you what a nice person I am, I'll buy the next round."

"Yeah, how long have you known?" Kim asked.

"Only like three weeks," Vanessa said as she got down from her stall and started walking towards the bar.

"So not fair," Adam said as the other two shrugged it off.

"Well, we're gonna head off, let you guys work this one out," Hailey said.

"Wait," Kevin said before either of them had taken a step. "How long?"

They shared a quick look, there was no point in hiding it.

"Three months," Hailey said.

Jay had to suppress the urge to laugh given the surprised looks on the rest of their faces.

"Wait, so you were the mystery guy?" Kim asked.

"Uh, yeah," Jay said. "Anyway, we'll see you tomorrow."

There were more questions and calls for them to stay, but they both ignored it as they headed to the exit hand in hand.


	11. Cocoa and Cookies

"Right, Upton, Halstead, you take upstairs. Rojas, Atwater, downstairs. Ruzek, Burgess, you've got the perimeter," Voight said as he moved his phone around the group, showing them their target. A guy by the name of Malone. Apparently he was one of those people who only had one name like Cher or Madonna, except his claim to fame was slinging bad dope which had killed six people and placed three more in intensive care. "Everyone got it?"

Hailey nodded as other agreements were provided by the team. Allegedly this was one of the places he liked to lay low so they weren't expecting to run into anyone else, but you never knew what drug dealers with a history of assault would do when cornered so they were going in hard.

"Alright, get in position and wait for my call."

They dispersed, heading to their allocated destinations. Hailey lined up outside the front door on the right-hand side. Kevin was opposite her, ready to bash the door down when instructed, and Vanessa was waiting just behind him. She felt a hand on her shoulder as calls of ready went out over the radio. She turned briefly to see Jay flash her a small smile, which she returned, before focusing on the job at hand as Voight counted them down.

Even though Voight had made them sweat it for a few days, he had eventually pulled them into his office and handed them each a HR form with a warning about only having one chance. Hailey knew they had both taken longer than normal to register his decision before thanking him and telling him that he wouldn't regret it. They had assumed they would be keeping their new partnerships since he was letting them stay in the unit, but then he had paired them back together the very next day and it was working. It had been a couple of weeks now and not once had Voight complained about them. If anything, they seemed to be working better now that everything was out in the open.

"Go!"

Hailey pushed the thoughts away as the door splintered on impact. As soon as it was gone, she called out and entered the property, her gun drawn and eyes scanning the room. There was nothing though, so she moved to the stairs, still feeling Jay's hand on her shoulder as she called out again for anyone to show themselves.

Yet again there was no answer so she took the stairs, keeping her eyes focused ahead in case anyone was waiting for them. She could hear calls of 'clear' and one of 'body' from the rest of the team below as her and Jay started checking the upstairs rooms. There were four in total. They both called clear to their first picks and with a quick look they agreed their who got which remaining room .

Hailey went left to find an empty bathroom. She called out 'clear', expecting Jay to do the same, but when there was nothing from him, she hurried over while trying not to fear the worst. There had been no sounds of a struggle or a gunshot, but something wasn't right. She backed herself up to the wall before peeking into the room and seeing Jay facing something in the corner. She was about to move in herself when Jay turned to face her. He indicated for her to come in before pointing to the cupboard in the corner of the room.

They both kept their guns drawn as Hailey suddenly heard a sound that must have attracted Jay's attention. It was quiet, but someone or something had definitely moved inside the cupboard. With a glance at Jay and a nod of confirmation, they both crept over to the door. Hailey reached her hand out to the handle, checking once more with Jay before yanking it open to his call of 'CPD, hands up'.

A moment later he holstered his gun and put his hands out. Hailey wasn't sure why until she looked inside and saw the two children with tear stained faces cowering at the back of the cupboard. The boy couldn't have been more than eight and the girl no more than five.

"Hey, it's okay. We're the police," Jay said as he slowly moved closer and crouched down at the entrance to the cupboard.

Hailey quickly holstered her gun and called it in, letting the team know not to come up as the kids were clearly terrified. She got a response from Voight, telling her that the body belonged to a woman named Nora who had overdosed and been beaten but was still alive. Based on the picture he had found in Nora's purse, she had two kids whose description seemed to match the children Jay was currently talking to.

"You want to meet my partner?" Jay asked as Hailey crouched down next to him after turning her radio off so as not to spook them. "This is Hailey. You know, Hailey always keeps the best snacks in our car. You guys hungry?"

The girl nodded and looked like she was about to move but the boy held her back and shook his head.

"That's okay, it's good to be careful," Jay told them. "But we're here to help you. You think you can come out of there?"

The kids looked between the two of them, neither seeming ready to move from their current position.

"Would you like to see our badges?" Hailey asked as she pulled hers off and offered it to them.

It took a few moments but then they both moved a little closer to have a look.

"You can hold it if you want, maybe look after it for me until we get out of here?"

The boy took it and inspected it before noticing that Jay was offering his too. This time the girl reached out and took hold of it. She also inspected it before tracing her finger along the outline of the star. Both kids took a bit more coaxing but eventually they came out of the cupboard. Neither uttered a word, but they were getting by with nodding or shaking their head, and that was enough for now.

"Okay, we're going to head out and take you to our car now, and then we're gonna get you back to the police station," Jay told them, gaining two nods. "And we'll get you some food and drinks. Anything you want."

That seemed to get a smile out of the girl who lifted her arms up at Jay. "Want me to carry you?"

There was a nod causing a smile to grace Jay's face, and a second later he was picking her up. Once she was securely in his arms, he caught Hailey's eye and Hailey knew he was thinking the same thing. These kids had been through something today, probably something terrible, but they were making progress.

"Can you take my hand?" she asked the boy, offering her hand to him.

The last thing they needed was either of the kids making a run for it if something scared them. This way they could make sure they stayed safe because even though they were still wary, the kids seemed like they were beginning to trust them.

"That's great, you guys are doing so good," Jay told them as the boy cautiously took Hailey's hand. "Now there's gonna be a lot of people downstairs but I want you to just focus on Hailey. She's prettier than me so that should be easier for you."

Hailey was sure she saw the hint of a smile on the boy's face as Jay winked at her before heading towards the stairs.

Thankfully nothing triggered either of the kids on their short walk out of the house. Hailey was sure she had seen the nervousness kicking back in for both of them, but they made it over to the truck without any problems. Voight caught up to them once they had strapped both kids in, letting them know that the mother would be okay once she had come down from whatever she was on, and asking if they were okay to stay with the kids and try to get them talking since they had already formed a relationship with them. Hailey had been a little hesitant, feeling that maybe they should get someone more qualified to talk to the kids, but Jay had agreed instantly, so she went along with it.

* * *

They spent the next four hours with the kids in the breakroom, trying to find out what had happened to them, but neither seemed willing to engage in verbal communication. With the nodding and head shaking they managed to confirm that the woman they had found at the house was their mother and that she had taken them there this morning, but they hadn't managed to find out who the kids were, what had happened to their mother, who else had been there, or what had caused them to hide in the cupboard.

"I've got a new plan," Jay whispered in her ear as Hailey kept her eyes on the two kids who were busy using the colouring supplies Platt had brought up for them. "You good with them for half an hour?

"Yeah, if you wanna get me one of the really good coffees while you're out I won't complain."

"I'll see what I can do," he told her as he squeezed her shoulder before exiting the room.

After hearing the door shut, both kids looked up, watching Jay walk away before looking at her expectantly. It was weird but even though they had never said a word, Hailey felt like she was really starting to know them.

"He's just gone out to get some things; he'll be back soon."

They seemed to accept it as they both went back to their drawings. Figuring she had nothing to lose, Hailey moved her chair closer to the boy's and peered over at his drawing.

"Is that a dog?"

The boy bobbed his head, keeping his focus on the picture in front of him.

"You know when I was a kid, I always wanted a dog, but my parents wouldn't let me have one. They said I wasn't ready for the responsibility. They were probably right but I still loved to watch them and draw them. I even came up with names for what I would call my dog," she said, gaining the boy's attention. "Top choice was Sprinkles."

That got a smile out of him which Hailey couldn't help but match. "I know right, I was not the best at naming things when I was five. So does this dog have a name?"

She was expecting another nod, but then she heard it.

"Shadow." For a few moments Hailey thought she was imagining things but then he spoke again. "He was real, but he died."

Part of her wanted to smile because he had actually spoken but as the reality of the situation sunk in, she had to hide how emotional the statement had made her. She needed to remain neutral but empathetic enough that he didn't shut down again.

"I'm really sorry about that. He looks like he was a cool dog." The boy bobbed his head again. "And Shadow is a great name, better than Sprinkles huh?"

The small smile was back then so Hailey decided to press her luck. "And what about you? I bet you have a cool name too."

He shrugged. "Devin."

"Devin," she repeated, feeling the tug of her lips. "It's really nice to meet you properly, Devin."

She held out her hand, ready for a fist bump. "You seem like a fist bump kind of dude."

Devin smiled at her as he touched his fist to hers, not fully committed, but this was so much progress that Hailey didn't care.

"I do explosions," the girl called out as she hopped off her seat and ran around to Hailey, holding her fist out.

Hailey obliged and bumped her fist against the girl's before following her example and doing an over the top explosion which gained a laugh from both kids.

"So what's your name then?"

The girl looked at her brother, checking for permission, before turning back to Hailey.

"I'm Ellie and I'm four and a half," she said, holding up four fingers and a bent thumb to represent the half.

"Well it's very nice to meet you properly too, Ellie who is four and a half," Hailey said, seeing the beaming smile on Ellie's face. "How would you two like to play a game?"

"Yes!" Ellie said.

"What game?" Devin asked.

"It's a question game. So you pick someone to ask a question to, they answer, and then they get to pick a question to ask someone else."

"I don't know," Devin said.

"Why don't we try and if you don't like it then we can do something else?" Reluctantly he agreed, so Hailey decided to roll with it. She didn't want to push them when they had only just started to open up, but she wanted to keep them talking while she could. "Okay, I'll start. Devin, what is your favourite colour?"

"Red," he said, seeming less tense about the whole thing. "Um, what's your favourite food?"

"Chocolate," she said, gaining a cheer from Ellie, who seemed to concur that it was the best food. "Okay, Ellie. Favourite animal?"

They continued the game for the next half an hour. Hailey varied her questions enough to keep it fun and ensure she didn't press them too hard on the things she really needed to know. But by the time she spotted Jay walking back through the office, she had their address, she knew that their dad had died in a car accident two years ago, that this morning they had met a man who fitted Malone's description at the house, and that their mother had told them to hide upstairs when there had been a knock at the door.

"Delivery service," Jay called out as he opened the door before focusing on the kids. "I know it sucks having to stay here instead of being at home, so I thought we all deserved something nice."

Hailey watched as he set the tray and the bag down on the table.

"What did you get?" Hailey asked. It was mostly for the curious kids who were both stood up, trying to get a better look at what Jay had brought them, but she was also intrigued.

"Well when me and my brother were younger and things got a bit scary or we were upset, my mom used to make us hot cocoa and-"

"Cookies!" Ellie called out as Jay was unpacking the bag.

He seemed a little taken aback that she was talking given that both kids had been mute since they had found them.

"That's right. And I know that this is a guaranteed way to make everyone feel better, even if it is just for a little bit, because it shows you that someone cares about you. And it's chocolate, and who doesn't love chocolate?"

"I love chocolate and so does Hailey," Ellie said, reaching for the cookies before stopping herself and looking between Hailey and Jay.

"Go for it," Hailey said before catching Jay's eye.

He still seemed shocked by what was happening, but also slightly in awe of the situation.

"Thank you," Devin said as he picked up his drink and a cookie. "Oh, I'm Devin and that's Ellie."

"It's really good to meet you guys properly," Jay said as he took a seat, only to have Ellie stood in front of him a second later with her fist out.

"Bump," she said, still munching on the cookie.

Jay did as Ellie asked and provided her with the explosions fist bump which she seemed to love if the way she bounded over to Devin was anything to go by.

"For you," Jay said, holding out a cup to Hailey. "As requested."

"You're the best," she told him as she took hold of it.

Once she saw that the kids were happy with the drinks and cookies, she leaned closer to Jay and brought him up to speed with what she had been up to during his absence. He agreed that she should update the team and he was fine to watch them, and that he would try and get them to open up a little more. The kids seemed disappointed that she was leaving but after explaining that she had to do some work and Jay would stay with them and do whatever they wanted, they appeared okay with the decision. So after grabbing herself a cookie and the piece of paper she had used for her notes, Hailey headed out of the room and over to the rest of the team who were gathered around the board.

"Anything from them?" Adam asked as she came to a halt next to Vanessa whilst finishing off her food.

"Got their address." She handed him a piece of paper which she had jotted it down on. "And they confirmed Malone was at the house this morning, but their mom told them to hide upstairs when someone else came to the door. They don't know who it was and I don't think they saw anything else, but they've only just started talking so Jay's gonna stay with them and see if he can get any more. How about you, any update? Anything we should try and talk to them about?"

"Not yet," Kim said, tapping the picture of their target. "We've got Malone in custody, but he said he has no idea what we're talking about and then lawyered up. And their mom is awake and talking, but she's not willing to cooperate. Voight offered her a deal and she spat in his face."

"Nice," Hailey muttered as she looked over the board, trying to see if there was something they had missed.

"Well that's junkies for you. She's still coming down from whatever she took, not that she'll admit it," Adam said as Hailey let out a sigh.

"Thanks, we'll keep working on the kids, maybe they know who this other person is."

She turned away from the group and started walking back towards the breakroom, but Voight called out her name before she even made it to her desk. He gestured for her to come into his office once she met his eyes, which she did without question. She assumed he wanted an update but when he lifted a file and indicated for her to take it, she knew it was something else.

"Ellis case last week," he started as she flicked open the folder; she remembered it. "DA's got some urgent queries which they need by the end of the day."

"Really making us work for this one huh?" she asked as she skimmed over the questions.

A few seemed legit but there was certainly some busy work there too. Hailey had a feeling those had been added after Voight shouted down the DA in front of his colleagues.

"Yeah, can you cover it? I need this airtight and I've gotta talk to a CI in twenty to see if we can get this mess straightened out," he said, already standing and pulling on his jacket.

"Yeah, I've got it." It would be three or four hours of work, but the kids seemed happy with Jay, and there really was no need for both of them to be in there.

Voight gave her a nod as he walked past her and over to the stairs. Hailey moved out of his office and dropped the folder on her desk before heading to the breakroom. She wanted to let Jay know what was going on before getting on with her new task since it was going to be a long one.

Quietly she opened the door, having spotted that the three of them had moved over to the couch and Jay looked like he was reading a story to them. Ellie was sat in Jay's lap, pointing at the pages in the book, whereas Devin was sat on Jay's right, keeping a small gap between them, though still looking at whatever Ellie was pointing at. Hailey couldn't help but smile at the scene, they had been through so much today, and the fact that they were this comfortable around Jay was a testament to how at ease he put them.

"That's a big cow," Ellie said, tapping the book.

"It's not a cow, it's a hippo," Devin corrected her causing her to lean in closer.

"Hip-po," she repeated, dragging out the o. "Hip-po."

After the second time she burst out laughing, causing Devin and Jay to both crack a smile. Hailey had no idea what Ellie was normally like, but she was a completely different kid to the one they had found hidden in the cupboard earlier. Devin still seemed wary of everything, but he was older and had likely seen more than his sister, though Hailey was sure he was starting to come around a little more with every passing hour.

"We could have it as a pet," Ellie said.

"You'd need a really big pool for that," Jay chipped in before looking up and catching Hailey's eye.

The question was clear on his face as the kids debated the merits of having a hippo as a pet. She shook her head slightly, letting him know there was no change. The smile on his face faltered slightly but he masked his disappointment as soon as Ellie looked back to him, clearly expecting something.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Finish reading," she told him, a grin on her face. "And then, and then another story."

"I see how it is, maybe you can get Hailey to read you one," he said causing all three sets of eyes to land on her.

"Uh, I've gotta sort out some stuff for our boss so Jay will have to do all the stories, but he's got lots of really good ones."

"Yeah, like the one about a partner who abandoned-"

"Was thinking more like the one about his brother's dog," she cut Jay off before backing out of the room as Ellie started questioning Jay about Will's dog.

She knew Jay would be fine, and as much as she wanted to stay with them all, she had to get started on the work Voight had assigned her if she wanted any chance of leaving at a reasonable time today. So after taking a sip of the coffee Jay had gotten her, she took a seat at her desk and started working through the queries. Some were easy and didn't take her too long, but there were a couple that really were just there to trip them up after Voight's run in with the DA. Given that knowledge, Hailey triple checked everything she was writing up because there was no way she wanted this coming back.

"You been in there recently?" Vanessa asked.

Hailey looked up from what she was reading; she hadn't noticed her roommate perching herself on the edge of the desk.

"Uh," Hailey started, spotting the full mug in Vanessa's hands and realising where she was talking about. "No, been busy with this, what's up?"

"You need to see this," Vanessa told her, taking the pen from her hand and dropping it on the desk.

Hailey was sceptical about what was going on, but the grin on her friend's face was enough for her to know it wasn't serious. So after a 'come on' from Vanessa, Hailey got up and followed her over to the door of the breakroom.

"You been tiring him out recently?" Vanessa asked as Hailey took in the scene in front of her.

Both Jay and the kids were fast asleep on the couch. Ellie was curled up in Jay's lap, his arm wrapped protectively around her. His other arm was draped around Devin who was sleeping soundly against him, and the book they had been reading was still held loosely in Jay's hand.

"I already took some pictures," Vanessa whispered as Hailey failed to hold back the smile any longer. "Gotta say he looks really good with kids."

Hailey shook her head at her roommate's clear suggestion before heading back over to her desk and picking up her pen. Her and Jay were still figuring out how to work together and be together, they hadn't had any serious conversations about the future, which maybe they should have, but she honestly had no idea what she wanted in that regard. For now, she was happy with what they had and all she really cared about was doing her job well while being with him.

Any further thinking regarding the future would have to wait because Voight had tasked her with a job to do and she needed to get on with it. Hailey thought Vanessa would take the hint, but when she looked up her roommate was stood next to her again.

"Can I help you?"

"Nope, just thinking." Vanessa said as Hailey indicated for her to spit it out. There was a grin on Vanessa's face as she leaned in close. "Your kids would be incredibly cute if you ever decided to do it."

"V-"

"Going now, work to do," she said as she backed away. "I sent you the pictures though if you want them."

Hailey shook her head as she focused back on the report. Now was not the time or the place for that, though maybe she would look at them later. And maybe she would consider what that future looked like.

* * *

"Hailey," Voight called out causing Hailey to swivel round in her seat to find him walking in her direction.

"Did you get him?"

Voight had called Kevin and Adam out to assist him once he'd gotten the location of Malone's partner, but with his current sombre expression Hailey wasn't sure what had gone down.

"We did," he said as Hailey suddenly spotted Kim bringing Nora through the doors. "They're booking him now."

It was then that Hailey realised exactly what that meant. It had taken a while but eventually Nora had decided to cut a deal; the location of Malone's partner and the rest of the dope for her freedom and agreement to let her keep her kids. Given the number of bodies that had been dropping, Voight had agreed to it, which Hailey understood, but part of her had really hoped Nora's information was bogus or they could catch the guy another way. Life was never that simple though, she had learnt that a long time ago.

"I'll get them," she said as she stood up and started walking towards the breakroom.

She wasn't happy with what she was about to do, but it was better coming from her. Jay knew the current situation, and, just like her, had held out hope for another outcome, but now she had to destroy that hope. He seemed to have really bonded with the kids during the day, so Hailey was worried how much this might affect him.

When she got to the room, she saw the three of them crowded around the table laughing at something. The scene brought a small smile to her face which she tried to keep as she opened the door. She needed to remain positive for them

"That's not fair, you can't see it," Ellie yelled, still giggling, as Jay held his hands up.

"Oh yes I can," he said, a grin on his face before spotting her lingering in the doorway. "Hey, you wanna join us for the next round of I spy, these guys aren't much competition."

"Because you're cheating," Devin said.

"Uh." Jay ran his finger along the table before holding it up for them to see. "See there's like a speck of dust there."

Both kids started arguing vehemently that it wasn't fair, which seem to amuse Jay more if anything. Yet when he caught her eye again, Hailey noticed his smile falter as he realised why she was here.

"Okay, my turn," Devin said.

Hailey took a deep breath before walking further into the room. "Actually, we've managed to solve the case so you guys don't have to stay here anymore."

"Are we going home?" Ellie asked, jumping off her seat and heading over to Hailey before looking back to the cookies.

"You wanna take the rest with you?" Hailey asked, gaining a furious nod in response. "Go on."

She watched as Ellie bounced back over to the table before spotting Jay talking quietly to Devin. She couldn't completely make out what he was saying as Ellie was babbling loudly about the cookies, but she saw Jay pull out his personal card and hand it over to Devin. Devin just nodded in response before standing up and walking over to her.

"Okay, this way," Hailey said as she started walking out of the room.

Ellie caught up to her quickly, still chatting about the cookies, until they walked further into the bullpen and she spotted her mother.

"Mom!" she called out as she sprinted over to her and jumped into her arms.

"Hey, baby," Nora said, holding her daughter close.

Normally Hailey would have been happy at a reunion, but given Nora's history, Hailey had a feeling she knew how this one would end. And it wasn't Nora who would suffer, it was Devin and Ellie as they watched their mother continue to battle addiction for the rest of their childhood. She wished she could do something more, but Voight had been clear, the deal had been made and they all had to let this go. Nora had promised to get clean and that was that.

"Devin, honey," Nora called out.

It took Hailey a moment to locate Devin who was stood behind Jay, looking conflicted about what to do. Gone was the smiley, happy boy from a few minutes ago, instead he was now the shy, wary one she had met earlier in the day. Hailey hated seeing him like this but there was nothing she could do right now.

"Come on, sweetie, we're going home," Nora said before focusing back on Ellie who was showing her mother the cookies.

"You said we'd get a new home," Devin said.

His voice was barely more than a whisper. Hailey wasn't sure anyone aside from her and Jay heard it, but she felt so guilty at his words, and she knew Jay would be feeling the same.

"Devin," Jay started, crouching down so he was eye to eye with the boy, but Devin didn't seem interested.

"You're a liar, just like everyone else."

He didn't give Jay a chance to say anything as he walked past him and over to his mother who pulled him into her arms. Devin shrugged himself out of the hug and walked over to the exit, Nora and Ellie following him. Ellie offered a wave and a smile before they got to the stairs, and Hailey forced herself to return Ellie's smile and wave. Maybe it would be different this time.

Once they had disappeared down the stairs, Hailey caught sight of the rest of the team. Based on their expressions, everyone had the same concerns about how this would play out. Hailey blew out a breath and ran a hand over her face, trying to compose herself, before turning back. She needed to talk to Jay, she knew Devin's words would be eating away at him, yet he wasn't next to her anymore.

She managed to locate him just in time to see him slam the door to Voight's office shut behind him. She watched the door for a moment, debating her options as she heard the raised voices. She couldn't make out the words, but she knew both parties were yelling. Part of her wanted to head in there after him and try and defuse the situation, but she also didn't want to make things worse.

In the end Hailey opted for resuming her work. She needed to get this finished before she left and she wanted to be there for Jay later so she reasoned this was the best course of action for now. He and Voight would hash this out in their own way, they had done it before, but that didn't stop her worrying about how things might go down. And it certainly didn't make it any easier to concentrate on her work.

After only a few minutes, Hailey heard the door to Voight's office open. She looked up as Jay marched out and grabbed his jacket before looking at her.

"Let's go," he said, keeping his voice low, but not doing well at hiding the anger in it.

"Jay, I've got to get this done before-" But she didn't manage to finish as he stormed off towards the stairs.

She rubbed a hand over her face before looking up to find Voight stood next to her.

"I'll finish this," he said as he took the file from her desk. "Make sure he doesn't do something stupid."

* * *

"You alright?" Vanessa asked once she had parked up outside of Jay's building.

"Yeah," Hailey said as she spotted Jay's truck. At least she knew where he was.

She hadn't managed to catch up to him when she left the station but thankfully Vanessa had been around and had offered her a ride. She had tried calling him a couple of times on the way over but it had gone straight to voicemail, though he had likely been driving for some of it so she wasn't going to hold it against him. Jay needed time to cool down from what had happened, but she was a little worried that he hadn't messaged or called her since he got back.

"Still got his spare key if he decides not to answer?" Vanessa asked.

She was trying a jokey tone, under the belief that Jay would never not open the door for Hailey, but Vanessa had never seen Jay shut down properly, so Hailey was glad she still had his spare key from when they had started dating. It might have seemed like a big step to some people, but they'd barely even talked about it when he'd told her to hang onto it in case she needed to get in when he wasn't there.

"Yeah, thanks for the lift. I'll see you tomorrow," Hailey said as she exited the car.

"Hey," Vanessa called out before Hailey had managed to shut the door. "If it helps, can you tell him that we all agree with him, and that Platt said she was gonna have patrol keep an eye out so if Nora screws up just once, we're gonna help get them away."

"Will do."

She waved her friend off before walking into the building. As she headed up the stairs to his floor, she debated the merits of using her key verses knocking. She didn't want to intrude, but at the same time she knew how personally he was taking this and she didn't want him to go through it alone. So once she was outside his apartment, she slipped the key into the lock and opened the door.

It was dark when she entered, aside from the light coming from the TV, illuminating Jay's silhouette. He didn't move or say a word as she closed the door and took off her boots and jacket. He probably knew it was her, but he seemed content to let the only sounds be those coming from the TV.

"Hey," she said as she moved past him and took a seat next to him on the couch.

He was staring at the TV but he was clearly miles away. She wasn't sure what was going through his head, she hadn't heard what he had said to Voight, but she had heard the raised voices and she had seen the look Voight gave her when he told her to go after him. It was the one that let her know he needed someone to be here for him tonight.

"That was a tough one," Hailey said as she looked over to him, but he was still staring straight ahead. She gave him a few seconds before softly placing her hand on his arm. "Hey, Jay."

He didn't say a word, but after a while he turned to look at her, which was when Hailey saw it. The red eyes, the damp cheeks, the pain. On instinct she leaned closer and pulled him into a hug. It took a moment but then she felt his arms wrap around her as he pulled her tighter against him and let out a shaky breath.

"Shit case huh?" she said.

Again Jay didn't speak but she felt him nod against her neck as she ran her fingers through his hair. They stayed that way for a while, just silently holding onto each other until Hailey decided to pull back. It wasn't far though, just enough to press her forehead against his.

"Can we talk about it?" she asked. Jay shook his head, keeping his eyes firmly shut. "Jay-"

Yet she didn't manage to finish as he pressed his lips to hers. It wasn't sweet or gentle, more desperate, like he was trying to funnel all of his current feelings into it as a distraction. And as much as she wanted to let him, to help take the pain away and let him forget, she knew it wasn't healthy. They had to talk about it.

"Hey…hey…just slow down a minute," she said, holding his face in her hands and pulling back further. "We need to talk about this."

"What's to talk about? Voight chose a drug dealer over those kids," he said, his voice raw and pained.

"It was a hard call to make, but none of those other people deserved to die," she said, holding his gaze and dropping her hands from his face to take hold of his. "He got her onto a program and those kids get to stay together, which might not have happened if they ended up in the system. And people can change."

"You read her record; she's an addict through and through. You really think she'll change?"

She wished she could say yes, but she wouldn't lie to him. "No."

"Exactly. We condemned those kids the moment we sent them back there. How are you okay with this?"

"I'm not, but Malone and his partner had killed eight people and we knew more were coming."

"You think he made the right choice?"

Hailey dropped her head slightly, looking at their intertwined hands, before meeting his gaze again. "For the case yes, for the kids no. But that's the job. And I think maybe you know it was the right decision too which is why you feel so shit right now. God knows I do."

Jay didn't speak for a while. Hailey felt his thumb tracing patterns on her hand, but she kept her focus on his face until he finally made eye contact with her again. "They deserved a better shot than what we gave them."

"No one disagrees with that," she told him as she squeezed his hand. "In fact Vanessa wanted me to tell you that everyone agrees with you and that Platt said she'd get patrol to keep an eye on Nora. So if she makes any slip ups, we'll get them out."

"Guess that's the best we can hope for," he muttered before freeing one of his hands from hers and rubbing it over his face. "Look, I'm not going to be the best company tonight-"

But he didn't get a chance to finish as she leant in and kissed him gently. "Good thing I'm here to be the good company for both of us then."

"Hailey," he started as she pulled back and stood up.

"I'm gonna make us some dinner and we can watch a movie or something, but unless you actually throw me out, I'm staying here with you." She could see the reluctance on his face, but it wouldn't deter her. "Partners remember? Good or bad."

"Always," he said as he caught her hand and pulled her back down to him for a quick kiss. "Thanks."

"Anytime," she told him as she stood back up again. "Now I'll do food, you pick the entertainment."

"I'm not really hungry, but I recorded the game earlier so we could watch that," he said as he picked up the remote.

"Sounds good. I'm just gonna make something quickly, you can start without me." She gave his shoulder a squeeze before walking towards the kitchen. "But if there's a good part, you'll have to rewind."

"Deal."

He still didn't sound like his normal self, but it was certainly progress, and she suddenly had an idea on how to cheer him up a little more.

Ten minutes later, Hailey walked back in and placed two mugs down on the coffee table. She didn't say anything, instead she moved back to the kitchen to pick up the plate she had prepared. Once she had it in hand, she walked back in and set it down between the mugs before taking a seat next to Jay.

"So did I miss anything good?"

"Not yet," he said as Hailey picked up her mug and took a sip. "What happened to your dinner?"

"I decided to go in a different direction," she said as she placed her mug back down and picked up the plate. "Want one?"

He didn't say a word, but Hailey could see a small smile playing on his lips as he picked up one of the cookies. It might not have been the best day, but they would be okay. And for now they could just enjoy a Halstead tradition on how to feel a little better.


	12. Spiral (part 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this prompt took on a life of its own and was getting far too long so I've decided to split it into two. Hope you enjoy it :)

Jay stretched his arms above his head before glancing to the side and seeing the mess of blonde hair spread across the pillow. From the rise and fall of her body he knew Hailey was still asleep, as was normally the case. Based on his experience so far, which was rather extensive, he would say he was the first one awake about ninety percent of the time. Not that he minded; it was always nice waking up with her next to him, especially when they didn't have anywhere to be.

With a small smile on his face, Jay rolled onto his side and shuffled closer until his body was pressed up against hers and he had an arm wrapped around her waist. He had no intension of waking her up, he just wanted to be closer to her, but after he placed a kiss to her bare shoulder, he realised he'd failed.

Hailey let out a yawn and rolled onto her back, blinking her eyes open. "Hey."

"Hey," he said, "sorry if I woke you."

She waved off his apology. "What time is it?"

"Uh." He leaned over her, gaining a laugh when he rested most of his weight on her, and picked up her watch from the bedside table. "Eleven. When was the last time we slept in until eleven?"

"When was the last time we stayed up until five?" Hailey asked as he set her watch down and propped himself up with his arm, unable to hide the grin on his face, he remembered that particular time very well.

"I think that would have been about two weeks ago after your drinks with Vanessa. You know, when you turned up at mine at one am and wanted to show me a good time."

Hailey scrunched up her face in return, shaking her head slightly. "Never going to let me live that down are you?"

"Nope," he said as he leant down and kissed her. "But it was certainly worth only getting an hour's sleep and overdosing on coffee for the day."

She hummed her agreement, biting her bottom lip, and Jay knew she was remembering exactly what they had done too. He had been rather drunk after his evening out with Will and it turned out that when they were both inebriated, they really didn't have any inhibitions. So they had experimented with some new things and before they knew it four hours had flown by and they were both exhausted.

"Could show you a good time now," Jay whispered as he leaned back in to kiss her. "You know, since we don't have anywhere to be."

Hailey didn't say a word as she trailed her hands up his body before wrapping them around him and pulling him closer until she could get her lips on his again.

* * *

"Please tell me this is a social call," Maggie said when Jay walked into the ED that evening.

"Yeah," he said as his eyes scanned the crowd, but he failed to spot who he was after, "you seen Will?"

"Uh, there." She pointed to the treatment room which Will was exiting.

Jay gave her a nod in thanks and headed over to his brother who was busy talking to a nurse. He caught Will's eye after a few seconds but had to wait almost a full minute until the conversation was over.

"Sorry, I'm gonna need like ten more."

"Yeah, no worries. Go do your thing," Jay said, patting his brother's back as he walked past.

Will seemed pretty caught up in whatever he was up to so Jay leant back against the wall and pulled out his phone to check his messages. There was nothing new so he scanned the news headlines until he spotted Maggie standing in front of him. She told him he was in the way and that he should wait in the staff room unless he was planning to help out with the gunshot wound which would be arriving in a minute.

Jay gracefully declined her offer and followed her suggestion, doing his best not to get in the way as he walked over to the staff room. A few of the nurses were leaving as he arrived but they knew him so they held the door open instead of questioning why he was there. Jay thanked them before heading inside and grabbing a seat. Since the room was now empty, he went back to reading the news until he heard the door open.

"Almost done," Will said as he walked in and headed over to the lockers. "Just waiting for one call back and then we can get out of here."

"Sounds good," Jay said, letting out a yawn before putting the phone back in his pocket.

"Your better half tiring you out?" Will teased as he started changing out of his scrubs.

"Funny."

"Always am. So what is she up to tonight? And how come you didn't bring her with you?"

"Uh, she and Vanessa are either seeing a film, going out for drinks, getting dinner, or some combination of them. They were still deciding when I left," Jay explained, noticing the grin on Will's face. "And I don't think I need you two talking again given last time."

"What happened last time?" Will asked innocently.

"Let me tell you about the time Jay did this stupid thing, or when he embarrassed himself doing this other thing, or-"

"Hey, I'm just letting your girlfriend know what she's gotten herself into," Will said as he closed the locker and pulled his coat on. "It's the brotherly thing to do."

"Yeah well she knows me well enough already," Jay said as he stood up, gaining a nod from Will as he moved over to the door. "And I'll remember this the next time you start dating someone."

Will laughed, muttering something like 'we'll see' as he opened the staff room door and headed out into the hall. Jay was about to remind him of the brotherly code, and that some things from their past did not need to be shared with others, but then he was sure he saw a familiar face amongst those in the ED. His line of sight was blocked by Natalie and some others but then suddenly Jay got a clear view.

"Jay?"

Without saying a word Jay crossed the floor until he came to a halt in front of a confused Natalie. He barely even looked at her before he dropped to his knee and got a better look at the tear stained face. This couldn't be good.

"Hey, Devin. You okay, buddy?"

"You know each other?" Natalie asked but Jay kept his focus on Devin, trying to work out if he was hurt.

He couldn't see any injuries, but it was hard to get a clear look at him since Devin kept his head bent forwards and his focus on the floor. Jay called Devin's name again, asking him what had happened, while ignoring Natalie and Will. After a few seconds Devin finally looked up and locked eyes with him, but it was only for a moment before he launched forward and punched Jay's chest.

"This is your fault! This is all your fault!" he screamed as he struck Jay again and again.

It took Jay a second to register what was happening, but his instincts kicked in shortly after and he put his hands up to deflect the blows but not before Devin managed to land one against his face.

"Woah, hey, calm down," Will called out as he grabbed hold of Devin with Natalie.

They both pulled him away from Jay who was still trying to work out what the hell was happening. Devin struggled against their grip, still yelling that it was Jay's fault before bursting into tears and collapsing onto the floor. Jay went to move towards him but Will blocked his path and pushed him away.

Jay noticed other people staring at the scene as Will dragged him back to the staff room but he could barely take his eyes off Devin who was now wrapped in Natalie's arms.

"What the hell was all that about?" Will asked once they were in the room. "Jay?"

"I don't know. I worked a case involving him, his sister, and his mom like three weeks ago. His mom is, was, a junkie and I told him we'd get him and his sister a new home but then Voight cut a deal with the mom," he said before noticing the weird taste in his mouth and the odd sensation from his lip.

He put a hand up to check, noticing the blood when he pulled it away.

"Guess the kid is stronger than he looks," Will said, indicating to Jay's split lip. "Just stay here and I'll go see what happened."

Jay nodded his agreement before grabbing a tissue and placing it to his lip whilst trying to work out what Devin's reaction meant. He wasn't stupid, he could take an educated guess at the situation, he just didn't know how bad it was. Given that Devin was here in the ED and didn't appear hurt, it meant one of two things: either his mom was here, or his sister was. Or maybe it was both.

Given how angry Devin was, he was putting money on the mom having OD'd again. But if that had happened then Devin and Ellie would get placed in foster care, though maybe that was the issue. Hailey had been right before; there was no guarantee they would stay together so maybe that was what had upset Devin so much, maybe they were getting split up. If that was the case, he could fix it, he could pull some strings and figure out a way to keep them together just like he had told them the day he met them.

For a few minutes Jay ran through his mental list of contacts, working out who would be best placed to help in this situation, while tending to his split lip. He went through two tissues before he pulled the third back to see no new blood. On instinct, he scrunched it up and chucked the tissue into the bin as he heard the door to the room open. He expected Will to fill him in straight away, but when he caught sight of his brother, he was just staring at him. It was then that Jay realised whatever had happened, it was worse than he had imagined.

"What's going on?"

"Jay, I'm really sorry," Will said as he started moving towards him.

"Why?" he asked as he swallowed away the lump that had suddenly formed in this throat. "What happened?"

Will indicated for him to sit but Jay couldn't, so Will moved closer until he was stood directly in front of him.

"Devin's sister was brought in half an hour ago, she got hold of her mom's drugs."

Jay shook his head and bit his lip before letting out a curse, partly from the pain and partly from the realisation that Ellie was in hospital because he hadn't gotten them out. He had promised them that they would be safe, and now this had happened. No matter how he spun this, it was on him. Him and Voight.

"I shouldn't have let Voight do it. I knew she wouldn't change." Jay huffed out a breath in frustration before focusing on his brother. "Is Ellie gonna be okay? Can I-"

But he stopped as he saw the look on Will's face. It was the one he had seen enough times to know what it meant. It was the one his brain had tried to ignore ever since Will had walked back into the room.

"No," he said, his voice barely audible, as the reality started to sink in. "No, she can't…she can't be."

"I'm sorry, Jay," Will said as he pulled him into a hug. "They tried everything they could."

* * *

Numb. That was all Jay felt as he twirled the beer bottle sat between his legs. At first he had been upset, then angry, but now there was nothing.

"Jay." With some effort he turned to look at his brother who was sat on the couch next to him. "Maybe we should talk about it?"

He shook his head. "Just want to forget about it tonight."

Their original plan of a night out had already been discarded with Will insisting they come back to Jay's. Not that Jay had been in any state to make a decision at that point. The only thing he had wanted to do was see Devin, to let him know that he was sorry and that he wasn't alone, but Will hadn't let him.

Instead Will had led him to his truck and told him to drive home, so he had. Then Will had led him inside and made him some food that he'd barely touched before putting on the TV so there was some background noise. He had tried to make conversation on multiple occasions, but Jay had shut it down with a couple of words each time before going back to staring at the TV. Not that he had any idea what was on. The pictures were all a blur to him and he wasn't paying attention to what was being said, instead his mind was content with replaying his time spent with Ellie and Devin.

"Should I call Hailey?"

Jay shook his head again; there was no point. "She's watching a movie with Vanessa; I'll tell her tomorrow, no reason to ruin her evening too."

It had been a while since she and Vanessa had spent some quality time together and he didn't want to spoil that. Besides, what difference was waiting until tomorrow going to make? Nothing was going to change in that time. Ellie would still be dead, Devin would still have lost his sister, and Jay would still have failed them.

"Jay." There was a knowing look in Will's eyes, the one that let Jay know he got it but he didn't think it was the right call. "Look, I know I don't know Hailey as well as you do, but I'm certain she would want to be here."

He was right, but Jay just couldn't do it. He needed more time to process and for that he needed to be alone. "Yeah. If I send her a message, will you go home and get some sleep."

"I'm good, I'll wait until she gets here."

"You've yawned like once every minute for the last ten minutes, and I know you just pulled a double so go and get some sleep. I'll be fine."

Will held his gaze for a few moments before letting out another yawn, causing Jay to raise an eyebrow.

"Fine, I'll call a cab while you message Hailey. Deal?"

Jay nodded his agreement and pulled out his phone as Will did the same. He typed out a quick message asking how her night was and if she could come over once her movie finished. It wasn't like he could tell her what had happened over text. Yet for some reason once he'd finished, he found his thumb hovering over the send button. And when Will looked his way, he locked the screen and put his phone away without sending it.

"Cab's on its way, you send the message?"

"Yeah."

Will didn't push for anything more, instead he got up and collected his things. Jay followed him to the hall, watching as his brother pulled on his shoes and then his jacket. Maybe he should have felt guilty for lying to Will, but he didn't. As much as his brother wanted to help, he couldn't, and Jay didn't know how to explain it to him, so it was easier his way.

There weren't many more words exchanged. Will told him to call if he needed anything no matter what the time and Jay said he would. It was another lie, but it was the only way to get Will to leave. So after a final reassurance from Jay that he would be fine, Will reluctantly left to go home.

After closing the door, Jay took a moment to try and clear his mind, but all he was left with was the same numb feeling that had tormented him for most of the evening. He could only hope that sleeping on it would help and allow him to do something more useful. So after downing what was left of his beer, he headed straight for bed.

Jay knew it would be hard to get to sleep while his mind was still working through it, so he did his best to distract himself. At first he browsed the internet on his phone, looking at random and inane stories to keep his mind occupied. It helped a bit, but then there was one that triggered a memory of his time with Ellie which caused him to chuck his phone down to the floor.

He tried thinking about Hailey at that point, of how great everything was between them, better than Jay had ever thought it could be. Unfortunately he couldn't hold onto the thoughts for long before he got a flash of Devin screaming at him. He buried his head into the pillow, trying to block out the memories, and started counting. It was a trick he had been taught a long time ago; focus on the next number and nothing else.

By the time he hit two hundred, he let out a yawn. At four hundred he felt himself drifting, and before he hit five hundred, he was gone.

It wasn't the peaceful slumber, or nothingness, that Jay had hoped for. Instead he was haunted by the nightmares that had plagued his sleep so many times before, except now a new one had been added. One in which no matter what Jay tried to do, Ellie and Devin were always out of reach of him, and by the time he got to them, they were dead.

After the third time of seeing their bodies, Jay startled awake. The sheets were twisted around him and he had something of a death grip on his pillow as reality set back in. He couldn't say it was unexpected, but it still took a few moments before he released his hold on the pillow and untangled himself from the sheets which were practically sticking to him.

He took a few deep breaths as he felt the cool air wash over his skin. This wasn't a new experience, he had been through it countless times before and would likely go through it countless times in the future. All he had to do was follow the routine and pray he could get through the rest of the night without it happening again.

* * *

"Morning, sunshine," Platt called out as Jay marched towards the stairs. "Cutting it a little close aren't we?"

Jay ignored her as he opened the gate and hurried up towards the bullpen. He hadn't received a phone call yet so either no one had noticed that he was late or he was about to be berated in front of the whole team. Jay was praying for the former because he really had no idea how he would react if Voight had a go at him right now.

"Guess you had a good night with Will," Vanessa said once he reached the top of the stairs.

She was walking towards him, mug in hand, but Jay was too busy taking in the rest of the room.

"Where is everyone?"

"Adam is on a breakfast run. Kev and Kim went to meet a CI, and Voight called Hailey early this morning and told her to meet him somewhere, so who knows," Vanessa explained as she took a seat at her desk. "Coffee's fresh if you want some."

Jay muttered a thanks and headed over to his desk. Part of him had hoped for a new case to get stuck into but having no one around was a good consolation prize. Vanessa clearly thought his current state was due to drinking, but he wasn't so sure everyone else would buy it, which meant he needed to find a way to cover it up better until he was ready to tell them. He knew he had to do it, they all deserved to know, he just needed to find the right time and words. Until then, he would focus on his paperwork unless a new case required his attention.

Jay wasn't sure how long he had been working, hidden away at his desk, before he heard the catcalls from Adam and Kev echo around the room

"Yeah, yeah," Hailey said, causing Jay to snap his eyes up to watch her as she walked through the bullpen with Voight. She was wearing a very revealing dress which was the reason for the comments from the others, and had Jay slightly confused.

"Two minutes," Voight told her before giving Jay a nod in greeting and then disappearing into his office.

"Hey," she said, causing Jay to turn back to find her smiling at him. "Oh you look like you had a good night. What happened to just having a couple of drinks with Will?"

"Uh, yeah." Part of him wanted to tell her the truth, to ask her to come somewhere private with him now, but there was something more pressing on his mind. "What's going on?"

"Voight's CI has an in with these new dealers. They took some convincing, but we've got a buy setup for this afternoon. Should be a good haul if we catch them red handed," she explained as she moved over to the whiteboard and started pulling it out towards the centre. "We're going to brief everyone in a minute."

Jay nodded before getting up to help her. By the time they had the board out and Hailey had stuck up the pictures of their targets, Voight was back out. He called everyone over so he and Hailey could brief them on what they had been up to and what the plan was for the afternoon takedown.

It was exactly what Jay had wanted this morning, a decent case to focus on, but for some reason it wasn't helping as much as he thought it would. He was doing his best to listen to what Hailey and Voight were saying, but the memories of last night were gnawing at him. One minute he would see the faces of the men they were targeting this afternoon, and then he'd get a flash of Devin or Ellie. It didn't seem like anyone else had noticed but he knew he needed to find a way to deal with it.

"Hey," Hailey said as she touched his arm once the briefing was done and everyone was heading off to get ready. Jay looked at her, waiting for her to continue, but instead she just indicated for him to follow her.

Jay did so without speaking, unsure of what she wanted, but knowing that it was intended to be a private conversation. Once they were in the locker room, and Hailey was satisfied that they were alone, she moved over to him and looked him over. Jay was about to ask her what was going on, but she spoke first.

"You okay? No offence, but you're not looking so great."

"Uh yeah," he muttered, trying to work out the best way to tell her. "Didn't get much sleep."

"Do I even want to know what you and Will got up to?" she asked, a small smile gracing her face as she came to the same conclusion Rojas had earlier. But when Jay failed to return it, the smile quickly faded. "Hey, what's going on?"

He rubbed a hand over his face, he just had to say it. Yet before he got a chance, the door to the locker room opened and Adam called out that they were rolling out in one minute. Hailey told Adam she'd be right there, but Jay noticed that she didn't once break her eyes away from his. Clearly she knew something was up given the way she was studying him but she wasn't going to say anything in front of Adam. He too seemed to realise something was going on as he retreated from the room without saying another word.

"Jay-"

"You coming over later?" She was about to go into a dangerous situation, this would just distract her and put her at risk.

"Yeah, but-"

"It's okay," he told her, indicating to the door. "We need to go; they're waiting for us."

Hailey didn't seem sure, but Jay was. Telling her now was nothing short of reckless, and he could survive carrying it alone for a few more hours. So even when she tried to talk to him on the way out, he brushed off her concern and asked some more questions about the case. He would tell her later at home when neither of them had anywhere else to be.

Thankfully since Hailey was the one undercover, she wasn't in the van with him. As much as he preferred her company to that of anyone else in the unit, for now this was best for him. She was doing her thing and he got to sit quietly doing his while listening to Kevin and Adam share random stories in the down time. Even though he didn't want to talk, Jay was happy for the distraction from his friends. It was certainly better than the silence which allowed his mind to wander.

Unfortunately the buy didn't go to plan since Hailey's new friend turned up an hour late and then told them all he was postponing it for some made up reason. Hailey tried to get it back on track, but the guy wasn't budging so eventually Voight called it. It was frustrating to waste the time but nothing terrible had happened so Jay counted it as a win.

The team made their way back to the station and reconvened by the board Hailey had laid out earlier. Voight had them run down everything to see what had gone wrong, but no one could work it out. In the end he told them all to head off except Hailey, who he wanted to accompany him to see his CI again so they could try and get things back on track. Jay was going to offer to stick around, but Hailey told him to get out while he could and she'd come over once she was done. Since he had no idea how long Voight needed her for, and he wasn't keen on sticking around at the station in case someone tried to talk to him, he followed Hailey's plan and headed back to his place, all the while doing his best not to think about Ellie.

It was the sort of thing he had developed coping mechanisms for a long time ago. So to begin with he started cleaning his apartment, but after an hour it wasn't enough of a distraction. Hailey hadn't called or messaged him yet, so he chucked on his running gear and set out on one of his local routes. Exercise normally helped him clear his head because he tended to focus on his form and how to improve. And if the things he wanted to avoid started to distract him, he just pushed himself harder until all he could think about was the pain from his muscles or his lungs.

Jay knew it was his best bet until he could talk to Hailey properly, but as he continued his run, he found it increasingly hard to keep the thoughts at bay. The first started to break through when he spotted a group of kids playing in the park because one of them looked eerily similar to Ellie. He tried to ignore it, but in the end he resorted to upping his pace to a level that he knew he would struggle to sustain.

It helped for some time but then he ran past a shop which had posters for the book Ellie had made him read, and shortly after he saw an advert for cookies, and then he couldn't do it anymore. His paced dropped instantly though he managed to keep himself walking towards his apartment. He refused to lose it out here, but he knew he didn't have long. A few minutes later, he managed to get back inside and found himself sliding down the door to the floor as soon as he had closed it. He dropped his head into his hands and choked out a sob before feeling the tears start to fall.

Jay wasn't sure how long it was until he managed to pick himself off the floor, but he was on some sort of autopilot after that. He headed to the kitchen, ignoring the glass of water he had prepared for after his run, and grabbed a beer from the fridge. It had helped a little last night so maybe it would help again tonight.

Once he had finished it, which didn't take long because he was thirsty from the run, he headed to the shower. He certainly felt like a mess, but he could at least clean himself up a bit before Hailey came over. He hoped she was almost done with what Voight needed. It was going to be a shit night for both of them and he knew the longer she had to process it before work tomorrow, the better.

With the plan in mind, Jay felt a little better so he finished his shower and got changed into some clean sweats before grabbing another beer. He had the plan but the words were still a little hard to come by and he hoped this would help. After a while he checked his phone again but still nothing from Hailey. He knew there was no point calling because it would be off if she was in the middle of something, so he took a seat in front of the TV.

As with the night before, it was mostly just background noise. Nothing was interesting enough to hold his attention for long. He checked his phone every now and again, but there was still nothing from Hailey so he browsed the news and then decided to check his emails before suddenly regretting it. Jay already knew what it was before he read the words, but he forced himself to finish the whole thing before letting his phone slide down onto the couch.

There were details that he would have to read again and some general sentiments, but there was only one part that mattered to Jay. Mike Ratchet, one of the guys he had trained with, one of the guys who had helped save him when he had been pinned down with his unit, had been killed in action.

The saying when it rains it pours had never seemed so fitting to Jay as he downed the rest of his beer. He had no idea what he was supposed to do now, but before he had much of a chance to think about it, he heard his phone go. If something else terrible had happened, he wasn't sure he could take it, but he made himself pick up the phone anyway.

When he saw Hailey's name he felt a pang of hope, but it vanished as soon as he read the message.

_Hey, I'm sorry, I'm not gonna be able to make it tonight. Something's come up and I've got to deal with it, not sure how long it will take so I'll just crash at mine. I'll explain tomorrow and I'll get the coffees x_

At least she wasn't hurt, but it still felt like another blow. Sure he could call or message her but she wouldn't have done this unless it was something important so he just dropped his phone back down onto the couch and stood up. Jay wasn't sure what he was supposed to do, but some sort of autopilot seemed to kick in as he walked to the kitchen and opened the cupboard. He pulled out the bottle of whiskey and looked to the glasses before deciding not to bother with one. Instead he pulled the lid off and took a long sip as he walked back into the living room before dropping down onto the couch and letting the memories consume him.


	13. Second Chances (part 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the other prompt that got away from me so I decided to roll with it and split it into two as well. Thought it would be fun to explore Hailey's side of things before we head back to Jay's POV.

"You did good today," Voight said as they headed down the steps of the station and out onto the street.

The words were a small comfort to Hailey as she looked over to him. "Not good enough though."

He half shrugged, a hint of a smile on his face. "It will just take a bit longer. Now go enjoy your evening."

Hailey returned the sentiment before heading towards her car. As soon as she was sat inside, she pulled out her phone and let out a sigh. She knew she was going to be late when Voight asked her to go with him, but she hadn't realised so much time had passed. Her plan for a chilled-out evening with Jay wasn't really viable anymore, but at least they would still get some time together and she could find out what was going on with him.

They hadn't had a chance to talk earlier given everything happening with the case, but clearly something was up. She had seen him hung over enough times to know his earlier behaviour wasn't solely due to drinking, though she was still at a loss as to what had caused it. He had been in good spirits when he'd left yesterday so something must have happened last night or this morning while she was out with Voight. Jay would have told her if it was something serious, so maybe he'd just had an argument with Will. It had happened once before when they had gone out together and one of them had mentioned something about their father which the other had disagreed with.

Whatever it was, she would know soon enough, she just had to get over there. Knowing that Jay was probably wondering where she was, she opened a new message to him and started typing. She had finished writing out that she was on her way and in the process of asking him to order them some food if he hadn't eaten when an unknown number suddenly took over the screen. Hailey considered ignoring it for a moment, but she couldn't risk it. In their line of work it could always be important so she tapped the green button and stuck the phone to her ear.

"Hello."

"Hailey, thank God."

It took Hailey a moment to process the voice, she hadn't expected him to be calling her at this time, especially on an unknown number. "David, what-"

"There's been an accident. The car just…I dunno what happened. I need your help."

"Slow down a second. Where are you?"

"Uh, downtown by-" But he didn't get a chance to finish as she heard some screams in the background. "Shit!"

"David." Hailey could hear her own heartbeat as she called her brother's name again and again without an answer. "Fuck."

She hung up the phone and chucked it onto the passenger's seat before grabbing her radio and turning it on. It was a hunch but given what David had said and the background noise she had heard, Hailey was fairly certain she would be able to get the location this way. She tuned into the main channel as she took a deep breath, forcing herself to think clearly as she waited to hear anything.

There were two other callouts, one about a robbery in progress and one about a potential shooting, before Hailey heard what she was after. Backup was being requested for a collision downtown. That had to be where David was, so she quickly started the car and turned on the lights as the address was read out.

Hailey kept the radio on as she sped towards the scene, hoping to get more details about what had just happened, but there weren't many as other priority calls took over. So instead she let her mind go, wondering what the hell her brother had gotten involved in this time. He had only been out of rehab a month, he'd called her the day he was released to thank her for helping him and telling her he still had a bit more work to do before he came back to see her. She had accepted it, thankful that he had sounded like his old self, but now…now she didn't know what to think.

Ten minutes later, Hailey came across the scene. Blue flashing lights from police cars, ambulances and fire trucks all lighting up the area. She parked as close as she could, knowing that the number of first responders meant it was serious, but doing her best to reserve judgement until she found her brother. Maybe he was an innocent bystander who had decided to help out, though something in her gut told her that wasn't the case.

After grabbing her phone and making sure she had her badge to hand, she locked the car and hurried over to the cordoned off area. Something of a crowd had formed, there to watch as the firefighters battled with one of the ablaze cars or the paramedics as they treated the injured who were scattered around. Hailey did a sweep of those she could see, looking out for her brother but failing to spot him. He hadn't sounded injured on the phone, though he could have been in shock.

With a flash of her badge to the officer manning the cordon, the tape was lifted and Hailey was permitted entry. As soon as she was clear, she headed towards the group of ambulances. She checked the first two, dodging around people as they went about their business, before finally coming across David sat on the back of the third ambulance.

"Ow, Jesus," he called out as a paramedic applied cream to one of his hands.

"You okay?" Hailey asked, doing a quick scan to look for any other injuries, but aside from a slight burn to his hands and a plaster across his forehead, she couldn't see anything.

"Look, I told the other officer you have to let me treat him first before you take him," the paramedic cut in before David had a chance to respond.

"Take you?" Hailey asked, ignoring the paramedic. The feeling in her gut was back and it was stronger than ever.

David opened his mouth again, but someone else spoke before he got a chance. "He done yet?"

Hailey turned to her right to find a patrol officer stood beside her. He had his hands on his hips as he looked at David before turning to the paramedic who shook his head. "One more minute."

The officer nodded and then turned to her, clearly noticing her badge. "Hi, I'm Officer Bailey. Can I help you…"

"Detective Upton, I'm with Intelligence."

"Okay." He seemed impressed, though he also seemed like he was only a few years out of the academy. He tilted his head, indicating for them to move away from the ambulance, so Hailey obliged. "What does Intelligence want with him? Is this part of a bigger case? If you need me to do anything, just say the word."

Hailey offered him a friendly smile; the eagerness reminded her of Rojas. "This one's personal, he's my brother."

"Oh." The excitement vanished in an instant. "Oh, I'm sorry."

The change in his demeanour had Hailey worried, but she needed all the details first before she could work out what to do. "What happened?"

"Uh, that car." He pointed to the one in the middle of the intersection, the one which had collided with three others. "That's your brother's. We're still trying to get hold of video footage, but so far witnesses say your brother and that other car caused the accident."

Hailey studied the scene; it certainly looked like David's car and the one directly in front of it had crashed first given the way the other cars were piled up around them, though that didn't mean it was David's fault. "What's the other driver saying?"

"He's already on his way to Med, it wasn't looking good."

Hailey took a breath, collecting her thoughts. "So you think it's his fault?"

"We're still trying to work it out but uh, he's clearly been drinking."

"Okay, he's all yours," the paramedic called out as Bailey gave Hailey an apologetic look.

Without saying another word, he walked over and handcuffed David as Hailey watched on, all the while trying to process what she had been told. Her brother, the one she had looked up to, the one she had checked into rehab almost four months ago to get sober, was drinking and had just caused an accident. She didn't want to believe it, this wasn't the David she knew, but Bailey had said there was clear evidence, though she wasn't sure what that was.

Hailey was about to question him about the alleged evidence, she even went as far as calling his name, but then he and David were right next to her and suddenly she understood. The smell of vodka came to her thick and fast even though they were outside. So instead she told them that she would follow in her own car and meet them at the station before turning on her heels and walking off.

She tried to remain calm as she pulled out her phone and deleted the original message she had started writing to Jay, before typing out a new one. There was no way this was going to be quick and she didn't want to drag him into her family stuff. So she would just have to see him tomorrow instead. He'd understand when she explained it to him but for now all she could offer him was the text.

_Hey, I'm sorry, I'm not gonna be able to make it tonight. Something's come up and I've got to deal with it, not sure how long it will take so I'll just crash at mine. I'll explain tomorrow and I'll get the coffees x_

* * *

Hailey let out a sigh, bumping her head gently against the glass as she watched Officer Bailey interview her brother. She had tried to talk to David alone beforehand, but the Sargent on duty had forbidden it, so she had settled for watching. She had heard him claim his innocence multiple times, explaining that the other car had run the light and hit him, but that was yet to be confirmed. And then there was the main issue. For all his protests of innocence, David still stank of vodka.

He had stated multiple times that the bottle had smashed in the accident, but Officer Bailey wasn't buying it. Hailey didn't blame the guy, she was David's sister and she was having a hard time believing his version of events. She wanted to, she really did, but he hadn't been out of rehab long and he could have easily relapsed. And if he had…she didn't know what she was going to do.

Part of her wanted to be there for him, to help him out of this mess, but she couldn't go through it again. She had given him a second chance; she wasn't sure she could manage a third.

A knock at the door of the interview room brought Hailey out of her thoughts. She watched as the Sargent entered the room and signalled to Bailey and his partner to join him out in the corridor. As soon as they started moving, so did Hailey. Something had to be up for him to pull them out and she needed to know what it was.

When she made it out to the corridor, there were some hushed voices which stopped as soon as she moved over to them.

"So who's going to tell me what's going on?"

The three exchanged a look before the Sargent opened his mouth. "We got lucky with some dashcam footage. It shows the events exactly as your brother described them."

Hailey nodded. It was good news, but there was still the issue of the DUI which meant there was more to come.

"We'll bail him for now, wait to see what the blood test shows for the DUI," the Sargent said, gaining another nod from Hailey.

It was the most she could offer for now because until they had the results, there was nothing more anyone could do. So she thanked them and told them she would drive him home. She had no idea where David was staying because as far as she knew he was back with his family. Him being in Chicago was worrying for several reasons, but she would get the answers soon enough.

After some paperwork and small talk with the officers, David was finally released. Hailey didn't say anything to him, she just led him over to her car whilst doing her best to ignore the fact that it was way past midnight.

"Thanks for that, those guys were pretty scary when they thought I'd caused the accident," David said as Hailey unlocked the car and climbed in. "I mean I told them everything I knew, but man that was not fun. I guess they were just doing their job and it's kinda understandable given where my car was, but it still took them long enough. You guys always such hard asses to heroic members of the public?"

Hailey shook her head, ignoring the grin on David's face and letting out a long breath as she buckled up her seatbelt.

"What? Come on, you gotta admit they went pretty hard on me."

"Because you reek of booze," she snapped.

There was silence for a few moments after. Hailey didn't dare face her brother, instead she busied herself with looking to the outside world. Any distraction was preferable to what was going on in her head right now. For some reason David didn't seem to grasp how serious the situation was, how if he had started drinking again it would be the end of their relationship.

"Hailey," he spoke softly, but it still took her a while before she managed to face him. "You really think I'm drunk right now?"

She considered his question; the way he walked and talked was not that of a drunk person, and even though she knew some people were good at hiding it, David wasn't that good. Still, that didn't mean he hadn't relapsed. Just because he wasn't drunk, it didn't mean he hadn't started drinking again.

"No."

There was the hint of a smile on his face until he realised what she was thinking. "I swear I haven't had a drink in months, not one drop."

She wanted to believe him, she really did, but there was still the doubt lingering at the back of her mind. Even though she didn't say it, David clearly saw it. It was something they would have to talk about, but two am in the morning wasn't necessarily the best time.

"You can stay at mine, we'll talk about it later."

David looked like he wanted to add something more, but in the end he just thanked her as she started the car.

* * *

The next morning Hailey walked towards her desk, two coffees in her hand, whilst doing her best to stifle a yawn. She wasn't sure what time she had actually fallen asleep last night. After getting back to hers and setting David up on the couch, she had retreated to her room before he'd had a chance to talk to her. She didn't want to ignore him, but she hadn't been in the right frame of mind to deal with it then, nor this morning, so she had left him a note on her way out. They would talk tonight once she was done with work and she'd had some time to think things over.

"So your brother's back."

Hailey set Jay's coffee on his empty desk before turning to see her roommate walking towards her.

"Yeah," she said as she perched on the edge of her desk and took a sip of coffee.

"And you don't seem happy about that."

She shook her head slightly. "It's complicated."

"Want to talk about it?"

"No." She took another sip of her coffee, noticing the concern on Vanessa's face. "It will be fine, just going to focus on the case for now."

It seemed like Vanessa was about to say something more, but when the sounds of the rest of the team echoed up from the stairwell, she squeezed Hailey's arm before walking back to her own desk. Hailey appreciated it, Vanessa was as private as she was so she knew it wasn't the right time, but Hailey also knew she would be there if she needed anything. She would thank her later, but for now she just wanted the distraction of work.

After a quick hello to the others, she took a seat at her desk and opened up the file she had been working on yesterday. She got on with it for twenty minutes before catching sight of the coffee cup on the desk opposite her. Jay was normally one of the first in but aside from Voight, he was the only one not in yet.

There was probably a good explanation for it. Maybe he was meeting a CI or he had a court appearance? She couldn't remember him saying anything though, and he normally told her about them, so maybe something had come up?

Doing her best to remember if something was happening today, she pulled out her phone and checked her messages from him. There was nothing. There wasn't even a reply to the message she had sent him yesterday, though given the time and how dead he'd looked, there was a good chance he had passed out early. Still something felt off.

Without another thought, she hit call and pushed the phone to her ear. She waited patiently but in the end it went to his voicemail. She tried again straight away but there was nothing so she left him a message, asking where he was. This wasn't like Jay, something had to be going on, and she wasn't just going to sit around and wait.

Hailey stood up and grabbed her coat, getting ready to leave, but then she spotted Voight walking towards her. He gestured for her to follow him into his office, so she did.

"You good?" he asked once she had shut the door behind her.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

He gave her a look, one which said she should have known. "I heard about your brother."

Hailey bit her tongue as she considered her words. She didn't want anyone else to get involved. "I'm handling it. It won't affect my work."

Voight studied her for a moment before giving a nod. "Okay. With Halstead out I'd rather you stick around, but only if you can keep your focus. If you need to deal with something now, deal with it."

"I don't," she said, suddenly feeling very confused. Voight knew Jay was out. Had he spoken to him?

"Get back to it then, but if anything changes, let me know."

"Yeah." She was about to ask him what he knew about Jay, but then she felt the vibrations from her phone. She quickly pulled it out to see a message from Jay.

_Sorry – think I've got stomach flu. Talk later._

* * *

Hailey paused for a moment as she placed her key in the lock. She wasn't sure she was ready for this, but she knew she couldn't put it off any longer. Vanessa had made herself scarce for the night and Jay had banned her from coming over while he was contagious, so aside from drowning her sorrows at a bar, which seemed hypocritical given the situation, she had no choice.

After blowing out a breath, she turned the key and pushed the door open. She wasn't sure what she had expected to return home to, but she knew it wasn't the smells and sounds that greeted her. David was singing along to 'Enter Sandman' as she closed the door, and he was definitely cooking something that reminded her of home. Curious as to what he was making, she headed towards the kitchen, but stopped suddenly at what she found.

David was jumping around the room using the spatula as a microphone, completely oblivious to her presence. While part of her was still annoyed at him, she couldn't help but smile slightly as he moved into his air guitar solo. She had not seen this side of him in a long time, not since she had become a Detective, and it was bringing back memories of the good times they had shared together.

"Hey, you're back," David said once he finally spotted her in the doorway. "You been there long?"

"Long enough."

He laughed a little, but didn't seem embarrassed, which wasn't really a surprise. David had always been confident with this sort of stuff. When they were kids and she got upset, he always managed to put a smile on her face with some over the top dancing or singing.

"You remember when we saw them?" he asked, bopping his head to the beat as he moved over to stir whatever he was cooking in the saucepan.

"It was my first gig, not something you forget," she said as she moved further into the kitchen to see what he had been up to.

"Oh yeah, I for sure thought you would hate it, but turns out you were always a metal head." He held out a spoon to her. "Taste this. I think it needs more salt, what do you think?"

Hailey did as she was told while trying to wrap her head around the current situation. "Uh, sure."

Had this been a friendly visit or something else, she would have just gone with it, but David was acting like nothing had happened last night.

"So how was work? You catch the bad guys?"

"It was fine," she told him as he focused on the food, apparently deciding to ignore the elephant in the room. Hailey couldn't do it though, she couldn't act like nothing had happened, so she moved over to his phone and paused the music before turning back to him. "Are we going to talk about yesterday?"

"What's to talk about? I'm fine. This." He gestured to the food. "This is to say thank you for picking me up and letting me crash here. Okay, that was a poor choice of word, but you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I was thinking we might need to talk about the whole drunk driving thing."

David sighed as he set the spatula and spoon down on the side. "I already told you, I didn't drink anything."

"So you just had a bottle of vodka with you because you like carrying it around?"

He shook his head before moving over to her. "I swear I never touched a drop. I haven't had anything since the day you took me to rehab. Probably owe you another dinner, or several, for that. And I know it doesn't look good, I get it, but it's the truth. I don't know what you want me to do to prove it to you."

Hailey held his gaze for a few moments. She wanted to believe him, she wanted desperately to believe he was who she thought he was, but there was still the small voice in the back of her head reminding her of her dad. She had lost count of the number of times he had promised her he had stopped drinking.

"The blood test will prove it." And if he was lying to her then she was done. She couldn't go through this again.

"Yeah it will. So you gonna treat me like a criminal until they get the results or can we go back to the good old days?" he asked as he picked up his phone, his thumb hovering over the play button. "Come on, where's the fun Hailey I remember?"

"Shut up," she said as she shoved his shoulder and took the phone out of his hand. As much as she hated to admit it, he had a point, he was innocent until proven guilty. So she scrolled through his playlist, ignoring the uneasy look on his face, before hitting play on a song from the second gig he had taken her too. "Remember this one?"

There was a smile on his face when she looked back over to him. "How can I forget, I got a blackeye rescuing you from that mosh pit."

"I didn't need rescuing," she told him as she moved over to the fridge.

She grabbed a beer on instinct before realising her mistake and putting it back.

"You can have a drink if you want, I can handle it," he told her. "Might help with your drawing skills."

Hailey furrowed her brow as she closed the fridge, deciding that she would grab a glass of water instead, but utterly confused as to why David was talking about her drawing skills.

"Sprinkles," he said as he indicated to the picture stuck on the fridge. "God I remember that phase, your room was covered in pictures. And didn't you try to steal a dog when we were at the park once? What would your boss think of that?"

"Firstly, I was seven. And secondly, I was just making friends with it."

"As you lured it to our car."

"Shut up," she laughed. She hadn't thought about that in a long time. Even her dad had joked about the situation. "And as you can clearly see." She tapped the bottom right of the drawing. "It says to Hailey from Devin."

"Ah, an admirer. Seems a little young for you."

"Funny," she said as she grabbed a glass and moved over to the sink. "He was just a kid I helped out a while ago."

She had found the drawing when she was cleaning up the breakroom the day after the case with them, and even though things hadn't ended as she'd wanted, she'd decided to keep the picture. For some reason the thing made her smile, and it reminded her to find out how they were doing every now and again. So far things seemed to be going well. Platt told her yesterday morning that patrol had spotted the family at the park. She seemed to be almost as invested as Jay was and had taken to giving them a weekly update on the family.

"You were always good at helping people," David said, pulling her attention back to him. His face was a mix of emotions as he moved closer to her. "I really do appreciate what you did for me, you know that right?"

She set her glass down on the counter and pulled him into a hug. "I do."

They held each other for a little longer than their normal hugs, but Hailey had a feeling they both needed it after everything they had gone through recently. No matter how long they stayed apart or what happened, he was still her brother. He had played such a big part in her life and even though she hadn't seen him too much over the past few years, she wasn't sure she could completely cut him out of her life. It had been hard enough doing that with her parents.

So Hailey kept the topics light as they ate dinner together. They reminisced about old times, talked about David's family, and a bit about Hailey's job. It was good to laugh together again, Hailey wasn't sure she had laughed so much in a long time, but David had always been a good storyteller, especially when it came to remembering embarrassing ones about her.

"Oh, do you remember the time you decided to cut your own hair?" David asked as Hailey shook her head, a grin on her face. She never heard the end of it. "Mom actually screamed in shock; you know I think she was genuinely more concerned over that than the time I broke my arm skate boarding."

"Well you were supposed to be watching me, whereas you and the skateboard were an accident waiting to happen because you were nowhere near as good as you thought you were."

David feigned shock, gaining another laugh from Hailey. "You spoken to them recently?"

In an instant, the smile fell from Hailey's face. There had always been an unspoken rule between them; they never talked about their parents unless it was good memories from the past. They didn't discuss the bad times, they didn't talk about how they were doing now, they just left it alone.

"Hailey." She shook her head; an answer to his previous question and his unspoken one. David left it for a moment as Hailey worked out a way to get things back on track, but then he spoke again. "You know that's why I was here? I saw them, that's why I had the vodka in the car. Mom asked me to take it away when I was leaving so dad-"

But he stopped as Hailey got up from her seat. She wasn't doing this. She wasn't getting involved again.

"Hailey," he called out, causing her to pause for a moment. "She misses you, Dad does too, but mom she-"

"Don't. Don't do this."

"Why not? You gave me a second chance so-"

"It's not the same and you know it," she snapped as she turned back around. "They've both had plenty of chances. This wouldn't be the second, it would be the two hundredth and I'm not getting pulled back into it. You want to, great, you do that. But don't drag me back with you."

Without giving him a chance to say anything more, she hurried out of the kitchen and up the stairs to her room. She had thought things had been going too well, that she might actually have a good evening, but that was never possible when the subject of her parents were brought up. With some internal cursing, Hailey slammed the door behind her and flopped down onto the bed. She just wanted to forget about it all.

A while later, after she'd had some time to stew, Hailey heard a knock on her door. She took a second to compose herself before sitting up and telling the person to enter. She hadn't heard Vanessa come home yet so she wasn't surprised to see David walk into her room.

"Peace offering," he said, holding out a plate of cake to her. "It's your favourite. And don't worry I brought this from a reputable establishment. While I can cook, I still really can't bake."

Hailey cracked a small smile before giving a nod. David returned it as he moved over and took a seat next to her on the bed.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up."

"Yeah," she muttered as she took the plate from him and took a bite of the cake. "I just can't do it. I've tried…they won't change"

She got where David was coming from, but she had dealt with their parents more than he knew about after he moved away. She had tried so many times to get her mom to leave, to talk to her dad, but it always resulted in failure. So at one point she had just decided to stop. She couldn't keep up the act she had been raised to put on, she couldn't pretend they were a normal family or ignore the blatant issues, so she had cut ties.

"Maybe one day," David said, quickly continuing before she had a chance. "But not now and no pressure. I promise."

Hailey nodded; it was the most she could offer him as she dug back into the cake. She wasn't really sure what else to say to David, but it seemed he was back to his usual self as she spotted the smug grin on his face.

"So is it tradition to keep a photo of you and your ex-partner next to your bed?"

She glanced at the photo of her and Jay; it was one Vanessa had taken of them at Molly's a few weeks ago. Jay had his arm wrapped around her as they both grinned at the camera.

"No," she said, failing to hide the small smile playing on her lips as she met David's eyes. "We're partners again."

"And?"

"And we're dating."

"Oh, that sounds fun and complicated." David smirked as Hailey took another bite of cake. "Though clearly the guy was into you given how overprotective he was when we met."

Hailey considered telling David that it was the same day they had gotten together and that it had been somewhat caused by his visit, but in the end she decided to save the story for another time. "I think he acted appropriately given how much of an ass you were being."

"Hmm, maybe," he said as Hailey found herself glancing back at the picture of Jay. She guessed she would have to introduce him to David properly at some point. "Is he a good guy?"

"The best."

"Oh."

"What?" she asked as she turned back to him

"Nothing," he said, a smirk on his face.

"David."

"I've just not seen you this…happy and smiley in…well forever," he said as she set the plate down on the bedside table. "Guess that's what love does to you though."

"Shut up," she said, chucking a pillow at his head.

"Oh wow, now that's not nice," he said as he grabbed hold of it. "So when do I get to meet my future brother in law?"

"David," she warned him as she chucked another pillow at him, gaining a laugh in response.

"Wow, are you blushing?"

"No."

"I can hang around a few days, get to know him and-"

"He's ill okay. You can meet him next time you visit. Now go away, I need-"

"To call your boyfriend." She shook her head at him as he returned the pillows. "Miss him huh?"

She didn't say a word, but David got the message and said goodnight before exiting her room. Hailey almost called Jay but decided to send him a text instead in case he was sleeping. The truth was, she did miss him. She just hoped it wouldn't be long until she got to see him again.

* * *

It ended up being five days until Hailey finally got to see Jay. She was sitting at her desk, trying to finish up some paperwork before the rest of the team got in, when a coffee cup suddenly appeared in her line of vision. For a second she thought it was Adam making up for spilling her coffee the other day, but then she heard the voice she had been longing to hear.

"Hey."

She dropped her pen immediately as she turned to find Jay standing next to her desk, wearing a small smile on his face. Hailey didn't say a word as she stood up and pulled him into a hug, burying her face into his neck and inhaling the familiar scent of cologne and coffee as he wrapped his arms around her. Normally she was more cautious with their interactions at work, but only Kim and Vanessa were in and she hadn't seen or spoken to Jay properly in what felt like forever.

They had exchanged some texts while he was out but with Jay's sleeping habits and her work hours, they hadn't managed anything more over the past five days. Hailey had threatened to go over a couple of times to take care of him, but he'd told her that he would bolt the door because there was no way he was letting her get sick. She'd hated it but she knew she'd do the same and Voight would be pissed off if she ended up getting sick when it was preventable, so she'd just got on with it. It had been hard, harder than Hailey would ever admit to anyone else, but seeing him now…it was all she needed.

She pulled back slightly, one of her hands moving to cup his cheek. He looked paler than normal and there were dark circles under his eyes, but there was still the smile on his face. Hailey couldn't help but match it as she brushed her thumb across his cheek. He clearly wasn't a hundred percent, but at least now she could be there for him.

"Well look who it is," Adam called out.

Hailey untangled herself from Jay and picked up her coffee as Adam and Kevin made their way over to them, Adam holding out a box of donuts.

"I'll pass," Jay said, bumping into his desk slightly as he moved out of the way.

Hailey guessed he was still getting back into food so she declined too, knowing it was unlikely to help if he had to watch her eat one.

"What's the occasion?" Vanessa asked as Hailey pointed Adam in her direction and out of the way of Jay.

"They're from Platt. She's in a weirdly good mood today."

"Well she did just get back from vacation," Kim explained as Hailey turned back to watch Jay.

He blinked several times, clearly trying to focus on the screen in front of him, before rubbing at his eyes.

"Hey," she said softly as she perched on the edge of his desk. "I mean this in the nicest way possible but are you sure you should be here?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm good."

He wasn't. He was clearly still recovering, but she knew how much Jay hated being stuck at home, so she would let it go for now as long as he didn't try to go into the field. Because as much as he might think he was okay, she knew he wasn't. He seemed exhausted and his movements were slower than normal, but those were typically the side effects you got when you didn't really eat anything for five days while fighting off a virus.

Knowing Jay, he needed this, so she carried on as normal. It seemed that the rest of the team were willing to go along with it too as they all left Jay to attempt to work. That was until Voight got in from his morning meetings. He took one look at Jay before telling him to go home until he was fully recovered. Jay tried to argue that he was fine, but Voight wouldn't have it and said he would get someone to drive him home if he didn't start moving.

Jay didn't seem happy, but he gave in to their boss's orders and grabbed his coat. Hailey quickly followed after him, ignoring the looks from the team and the comment from Platt on the way out of the station.

"This is crap," Jay muttered once they were outside.

"Jay," she said softly, taking hold of his hand. "I know it's not what you want to hear, but he's right. You're still recovering, that's nothing to be ashamed of, but there's no way you can go out in the field in your current state, and I saw you in there. You could barely focus on what you were trying to do."

He held her gaze, but didn't say a word. Hailey waited, letting him work through it for a minute before deciding to break the silence.

"Hey, since you're not contagious anymore, why don't I come over after work and be your own private nurse?" It took a moment but then she saw the hint of a smile on Jay's face as he tugged her closer and wrapped his arms around her. She felt him inhale a deep breath and she couldn't help but say what had been on her mind since he'd walked in. "I really missed you."

He nodded slowly against her before finally speaking. "I missed you too."

His voice was hoarse as he spoke and suddenly Hailey regretted not going over to his. She should have talked to Will, got his advice on how to safely be around Jay, but Jay had been so adamant that she stay away every time she suggested it and she hadn't wanted to force him into it. So she had accepted text updates but now he could be around people again, she was going to make sure she was there for him. No matter what happened, no matter what else life threw at them, she would make sure they were together tonight.

"Okay," she said as she broke out of their hug. "You need to go back to yours and rest up. Once I'm done here, I'll come over. If you-"

But she stopped as she saw the look on his face.

"My place, uh, it's not in the greatest state."

"I'm sure I've seen worse before," she told him, hoping to ease any concerns he had, but he still seemed reluctant so she decided to go with plan B. "Why don't you go back to mine instead?"

She pulled the keys out from her pocket and handed them to him before he had a chance to say anything else.

"You're not contagious anymore so you can just go to mine and relax until I'm done with work. And don't worry if you fall asleep, Vanessa can let me in."

Jay fiddled with the keys in his hands, clearly debating it, before looking up to her. "You sure?"

"Yeah. I just want to spend some time with you, even if you are passed out and drooling all over my pillows," she told him, gaining a small smile in return. "Now go and get some rest. I'll see you later."

* * *

"So much for an early night," Vanessa moaned as she stuck her key in the lock and opened the door.

Hailey found herself silently agreeing as they stepped inside. A last minute sighting of the crew they had been following meant they'd all ended up putting in an extra few hours, though at least they had a good lead for tomorrow.

"Something you meant to tell me?"

Hailey followed her roommates' gaze to the boots on the floor. She had meant to tell her earlier but it slipped her mind when Voight had updated them on the case.

"Oh, yeah," she said, carefully shutting the door and keeping her voice low in case Jay was asleep. "I told him to come back here. He didn't want me to go to his until he'd had a chance to clean it."

"I don't even want to imagine that situation," Vanessa said as she started climbing the stairs. "But he best not be contagious because I really don't-"

"He's not. He said he'd spoken to Will and it was safe for him to be around people. And remember he wouldn't even let me go anywhere near his flat when he thought he could pass it on."

"Don't I know it," Vanessa said, glancing back at Hailey who couldn't hide the shock on her face.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, just glad you won't be as grumpy anymore," she said innocently as she backed away to her room.

"Va-"

"Don't know about you but I'm beat, see you tomorrow," she said, quickly closing her door as Hailey shook her head.

She may not have been the most cheerful person over the past few days but that wasn't because of Jay. There had been everything with David and the case which had taken up her patience, or at least that's what she had thought. As she replayed Vanessa's words and some of her actions over the past few days, she realised that her roommate might have been on to something. Not being able to help Jay or see him had certainly made her a little harsher than normal. She hadn't realised it until now, but she would keep an eye on it going forwards.

With the thought in mind, she crept into her room to find Jay in her bed. She whispered his name, unsure if he was asleep or just had his eyes closed, but she got no response. Happy that he was finally getting some rest, she got ready for bed as quietly as she could. Part of her was worried he would wake up because he really was the lightest sleeper she had ever met, but by the time she was climbing into bed, he was still fast asleep.

She kept her eyes on him for a minute as they adjusted to the dark of the room. As much as she wanted to cuddle up to him for a bit, she didn't want to risk waking him. So after allowing herself another minute of watching him, she placed a gentle kiss to his cheek before rolling over and drifting off to sleep; at least they would have the morning together.

Yet when Hailey awoke the next day, Jay was nowhere to be found. At first she thought he might be in the bathroom but then she spotted the note on the bedside table and felt the pang of disappointment.

_Gone back to mine to change, didn't want to wake you. See you at work._


	14. Spiral (part 2)

Jay closed his eyes and leant his head back against the wall. It vibrated along with the beat of the music, but at least it meant he could feel something. He hadn't been feeling much over the past few days, or at least nothing he wanted to feel. So this was his new distraction. Coming out to a club and drinking the night away.

He had tried it on a whim two nights ago when he couldn't sleep and he just needed to get out of his apartment. The noise, flashing lights, and drunken people had actually helped. He had watched people dance, watched groups of friends do shots, and he had found himself thinking about their lives, about what brought them here, instead of his own life.

"You look like you need a friend."

The voice snapped Jay out of his thoughts and he opened his eyes to reveal one of the bartenders stood in front of him. She held up a clear shot to him, likely vodka, with a smile. He was about to tell her that he was fine but she started talking first.

"Come on, I just got off a terrible shift and you look as shit as I feel. Why not drown our sorrows together? It's on me."

With some hesitation, Jay took the glass from her hand, gaining a smile in response.

"That's what I thought, I'm Sarah by the way," she said as she tapped her glass against his and took her shot.

Jay followed suit, feeling the burning sensation against the back of his throat. "Ryan."

"Well nice to meet you, Ryan," she said as she took the shot glass from him and stacked it in her empty one.

He gave a polite smile whilst trying to work out why he had said that. He wasn't undercover so why the hell had he given his undercover name, but then he had a realisation. Being Ryan, in any of his incarnations, felt easier than being Jay right now.

"So you really don't talk much huh?"

"Got a lot going on," he said, wondering if she would take the hint.

"Is that why this is your third night here drinking alone by yourself?" she asked. "You notice things in my line of work. Wanna talk about it? I can be a good listener."

"Nah." No way he wanted to talk to a stranger about this, he hadn't even managed to tell any of the team yet.

"Alright, how about some more drinks then? You can listen to my shit life, maybe it will be worse and make you feel better?" He was about to decline again, but she seemed to read his response and got there first. "Or we could always just have a little fun?"

Before Jay realised what she meant, she took a step forwards and placed her lips to his. It took him a second to workout what was happening, but as soon as his brain caught up, he pushed her away. "I'm not…I'm with someone."

"Doesn't bother me, can just be some fun," she said as she tried to move closer, but Jay kept her at bay.

"Well it bothers me. I gotta go," he said, walking off towards the exit before she could say another word.

He dumped his half-finished beer on the bar as he walked out, trying his best to ignore the claustrophobic feeling as he pushed his way through the crowds. This was supposed to help, to take his mind off things, to get him through the night, but somehow it had gotten worse. Why hadn't he just stayed at Hailey's tonight? Why hadn't he just told her the truth?

That really had been his plan. As soon as she got to her place he was going to tell her, but she had been delayed because of the case and then he had heard her and Vanessa talking when they got in. He hadn't managed to make out all of it, but they had both sounded exhausted and the next thing he knew he was pretending to be asleep when Hailey came in.

She had whispered his name once when she first entered her room but when he didn't respond she had just gotten ready for bed. She hadn't tried to wake him, she had told him earlier that he needed to rest, but she had placed a kiss to his cheek before she rolled over and drifted off to sleep. It was a talent of hers that he envied, how quickly she could fall asleep, but it was good for her. She had been working so hard this week and he was proud of her.

So he had curled up to her and held her tight, trying to match his breathing to hers. It had helped a bit, he'd even drifted off for a while, but he hadn't managed to sustain it. The nightmares had come for him again and he had woken up in a sweat. Thankfully he hadn't managed to wake Hailey, so he had gone downstairs to grab some water, but that was when he had noticed the picture stuck on her fridge amongst some photos and a couple of postcards.

Jay was sure it had been there for a while, but he hadn't paid much attention to it until he was stood there in the middle of the night trying to take his mind of the nightmares. There were two dogs, clearly drawn by a child, with the names Shadow and Sprinkles written under them. Initially he thought it might have been from one of her nieces or nephews as they were the only kids he knew about in Hailey's life, but then he'd read the scrawled name at the bottom right. Devin.

It was then that he had panicked, this feeling that he just had to get out. So he had quietly returned to Hailey's room and gathered his things. He had scrawled her a note, knowing she wouldn't wake up too early, but also that she would worry if he wasn't there. And then he had left. Originally he had planned to go home or just drive around, but then he had found himself near the same club as last night and he couldn't think of a reason not to try it again.

That was until two minutes ago when somehow things had gotten worse. He mentally cursed himself as he headed to his truck and climbed in. He was probably over the limit and while he would normally never consider driving under such circumstances, he got as far as putting his key into the ignition before talking himself out of it. He hadn't had too much; a coffee and forcing himself to eat something should sober him up, and then he could get out of this place.

* * *

"What are you doing here?"

Jay looked up from the stack of files on his desk as Voight walked towards him. He managed a quick glance at the clock on his monitor, thankful Voight hadn't caught him any earlier because it was still an hour until anyone else was likely to show up.

"Wanted to get caught up," he said, which was partly the truth.

"You still don't look a hundred percent," Voight said as Jay tried his best not to let his boss see how bad it was. "Jay, if you're-"

"I'm good, I just want to work."

He held Voight's gaze, knowing that Voight was studying his every move, but the last thing he needed was to be sent home. After everything last night and at the club, this had actually helped. Forcing himself to get up to speed with everything that had happened the past five days had made two hours fly by, and that was something that had not happened to him since he had found out about Ellie and Mike.

"You're not good, Jay. And I'm not letting you out in the field until I can see you're good. So you can either go home and rest up or you can stay at your desk if you insist on being here. But if I see you looking like yesterday or worse, I'll get Upton to drag you straight back home. Got it?"

It was the best he could ask for. "Got it."

Without another word, Voight disappeared into his office as Jay focused back on the file in front of him. He could do this; he could get things back to normal. All he had to do was concentrate on work and forget about everything else, something which was easier to do when his phone wasn't blowing up with texts. He did a quick check of the names; Will, Adam, and Hailey, before putting the phone back down on his desk.

He didn't want to ignore them, didn't want them to think it was something they had done, but he just couldn't right now. All of them were a reminder of what he could lose if he was to fail again, and he needed to work out how to deal with that first. He'd been trying to do it by himself over the past five days, but if he was honest, it wasn't working. Instead of taking a few days to clear his head like he'd planned, he'd reverted to his old solution, or at least partially. There had been no sex or fighting this time, but there had been a lot of drinking because it was the only thing that numbed the pain.

Jay rested his head in his hand as he started reading the file again, reminding himself to take it one step at a time, starting with getting up to speed, but then his phone flashed again with another message. It was Will, but that wasn't what caused Jay to keep his eyes on the phone. Instead it was the background, the picture he had set a couple of weeks ago, the one of him and Hailey at Molly's.

His eyes remained glued to the phone long after the screen faded to black as he worked through his options. He probably didn't have long until Hailey called him out properly on his behaviour, and he didn't blame her, but she deserved better and he knew what that meant. With some effort, he picked up his phone and scrolled through his contacts until he found the name he was after.

It had been over a year since he had last booked a session, but his therapist had told him to come back if he ever needed. She probably wouldn't be expecting this, but for some reason it seemed like it would be easier than dumping it all on Hailey. Once he had spoken to her and he was more in control, then he would explain it all to Hailey.

The plan was clear in his mind but just before he hit the call button, he spotted Platt walking up the stairs and he quickly aborted.

"What are you doing here so early?" she asked as she walked across the room. "And why do you look like shit?"

"Nice to see you too," he muttered as he dropped his phone back down on the desk and picked up the file so she would see that he was busy.

"Isn't it always. Where's your other half?" She tapped Hailey's desk with the file in her hand. "Thought you were attached at the hip."

"She'll be in later."

"Oh," she said, keeping her eyes on Jay as he looked back to the file. "You two have a fight?"

"No." He snapped his eyes up to meet hers.

"Uh huh, well speaking as someone who also hasn't had any fights recently, I can say that getting away from this place can really help. Randy surprised me with a real nice trip this week and let's just say it's like when we were first dating again. I can get you the address if you need and Randy can probably get you a good discount since he knows the owners."

"We're good."

"Okay," Platt said, not looking at all convinced, as she set the file down on Hailey's desk. "Tell Upton this was all I could find for her."

Jay gave a nod, refusing to look up from the file in his hands until he heard Platt walking away from him. Once he was sure she was gone, he leant forward on his desk and placed his head in his hands. He closed his eyes for a moment, pushing away her words and the associated thoughts they brought to mind. Yes he hadn't seen much of Hailey recently but they weren't fighting, they were just busy dealing with their own things. Or at least that's what he was going to go with for now until he dealt with everything else. He'd told Hailey before that they would always be good, and that was true for him, he just hoped she felt the same once things were back to normal.

"Jay."

Jay silently cursed himself for being caught in this position, but it wasn't like there was any way out of it. He reopened his eyes and lifted his head to find Voight stood next to his desk. He looked like he was about to head out, Jay expected him to say something to that effect along with another warning to go home, but he didn't.

"Is there something going on that I need to know about?"

This was his chance. He could tell him about Ellie and how they were responsible, about how Devin had screamed it in his face, and how he couldn't stop thinking about it unless he was blackout drunk. He could tell him that he had lied about being sick, that Mike had been killed in action, and that three days ago he had gone to the funeral before again drinking to forget. Yet in the end, instead of doing any of it, he shook his head.

He wasn't sure how he expected Voight to react. Part of him thought Voight might call him out or force him to talk about it, the other part thought he'd just order him to leave. In the end, however, Voight reached out to him.

"My door's always open." He squeezed Jay's shoulder. "If something does come up. Doesn't matter what time or day."

Jay gave a nod in response. For some reason, just as with Hailey, he couldn't find the words. Saying them out loud made everything more real, and he wasn't ready for that just yet. He knew how people would look at him and what they would think of him. Thankfully though, Voight seemed to let it go after watching him for a few seconds.

"I've told the team to meet me at our staging area for the bust later. I want you running point from here with Atwater. So I need you to finish getting up to speed quickly, use Kevin if you need, but I need you both ready and guiding us from here. You good for that?"

"Yeah."

Voight gave a nod and walked away as Jay turned his attention to the monitor in front of him. The team needed him to be on point for this; he could do that.

* * *

Jay wasn't sure how it happened, but the day flew by. Being put on point, in charge of disseminating information to everyone and having to deal with unexpected location changes and new faces, meant he barely had time to think about anything else. His only purpose was to ensure they got the crew and that everyone in the team came home safe. And that is exactly what happened.

It was what he'd wanted the day after he'd found out about Ellie, something to completely absorb his mind, to keep it from thinking about anything else. It hadn't worked then, but maybe now was the right time. All he had to do was hold onto this ability, do the same on the next case, and he would be able to get back to normal.

He wasn't there yet but he'd taken the right steps earlier; he'd eaten a proper lunch with Kevin as they watched the cameras the team had setup. He'd even cracked a few jokes and made some small talk later on in the day. And when Hailey had texted him to ask if he wanted to go to Molly's to celebrate the takedown, he'd said he'd think about it. He wanted to, Hailey deserved to be part of the celebration after the amount of work she had put in, he just wasn't sure if it was a step too far. There would be a lot of people and he wasn't sure he could deal with all of them. Maybe he and Hailey could just have an evening the two of them. Maybe completely focusing on her would work?

With the thought in mind, Jay pulled out his phone, ready to call her since he knew she was on her way back to the station with the rest of the team, but before he got a chance, Platt's name lit up his screen showing an incoming call.

"Halstead."

"Jay." There was something in her voice, something that let him know what she was about to say was not going to be good. "There's no easy way to say this. The kids we were keeping an eye on, something happened last week while I was off. I'm still catching up on the details, but Ellie…she died."

He knew what she was going to say as soon as she'd mentioned the kids, but even though he'd had a six-day head start on processing the news, he still didn't know what to say.

"Look, I'm going to make sure this gets done right, that whoever is involved gets the full charge," she started. Jay could hear the cracks in her voice, it seemed to be hitting her too. "I thought you'd want to know."

"Yeah, thanks," he muttered as he heard the gate buzz.

"And that is how it's done!" Adam called out as Jay ducked down behind his monitor, not wanting anyone to see him just yet.

"I've gotta go, the team just got back," he told Platt.

He hung up without giving her a chance to say anything else; he couldn't face talking about it anymore. The team was a convenient excuse, but he would have just lied to get out of it otherwise.

"Yo, Jay, Kev, you missed out on a sweet takedown," Adam called out as Jay poked his head out, trying to appear normal.

He was going to say something, but there was a lump in his throat, and suddenly there were no words. By some miracle, his phone went. He grabbed it straight away without looking at the caller ID, just thankful for a way out of the team chat.

"Halstead," he answered, turning away from the others so they couldn't catch onto his current state.

"Yeah I know that, Jay," Will said, causing Jay to pinch his brow. He couldn't deal with this now, not after Platt's call, not after the memories that were resurfacing.

"What's up?"

"Wanted to see how you were, you've been ignoring my texts and-"

"It's been busy here," he said, keeping his voice low so the others wouldn't hear him. He needed to shut this down quickly. "Sorry, but I gotta go, we're in the middle of something-"

"Jay-"

"I'm fine, Will. I can't talk now. I'll call you later."

"Okay."

That was enough for Jay. He hung up and slipped the phone into his pocket. After making sure no one was paying attention to him, he shut down his PC and stacked the files up on his desk as he readied his excuse to leave.

"You down for Molly's to celebrate?" Vanessa asked, suddenly appearing by the side of his desk. "Hailey seemed like she was up for it, and they do have soft drinks."

The lump was back in his throat again so he shook his head to buy himself some time to pull his act together. "Another night."

"Okay." She offered him a small smile before stepping out of his way as he stood up and grabbed his coat.

Jay tried to return the gesture, but he had no idea how it came off. The only thing he knew for certain was that he wanted to get out of here right now. He knew the others were looking at him as he walked past them at a slightly faster pace than normal, but no one said anything about it. They all just offered, 'goodnights' or 'see you tomorrows' which Jay nodded at.

His vision was starting to blur at the edges, and he was getting that feeling again, the one where he wasn't in control of his body. He blinked his eyes a few more times than normal as he headed down the stairs, he just needed to hold it together long enough to get to his truck. That was the only thing that mattered right now.

As he crossed the main floor, he was sure he heard his name, but he ignored it and carried on walking to the exit as he tried to focus on his breathing. For some reason even though he was trying to slow it down, he was sure it was becoming faster. He needed to lie down, just stop everything else around him, but there were too many people here. Doing his best to block out the rest of the world, Jay hurried over to his truck and climbed in before closing his eyes and dropping his head on the steering wheel.

He started counting as he inhaled, making sure he at least got to three before doing the same on the exhale. It took a while, but eventually he felt like he was in control, or at least enough to drive home. He just needed to get out of here.

Once Jay was through his front door, he kicked off his shoes and shoved his jacket towards the coat hook on the wall. It didn't stick though, instead falling to the floor before he had a chance to stop it. Jay glanced at it and let out a sigh before continuing towards the couch, he would get it later. As he moved passed the coffee table, he swiped the half full bottle of whiskey. He just needed something to take the edge off right now, and it had helped before so it made sense to do it again.

There were vibrations coming from his phone as he opened the bottle and took a swig. It burned a little but that's what he wanted after all. His brain just wouldn't quit so he would take any distraction at the moment. Well, almost any.

The sensations from his phone died down as he took another large sip, but then he felt a short buzz. It was the one which meant he had a message, and while he didn't want to deal with it, if it was a case, he should check.

After a few moments of internal deliberation, Jay set the bottle between his legs and grabbed the phone from his pocket. He wasn't surprised to see Hailey's name on the screen. Both the missed call and the text were from her, but he couldn't talk to her now. He couldn't let Hailey see him like this, he needed to wait until he was more in control of things.

It didn't seem like she was giving him a choice though as her name popped up on the screen again, indicating an incoming call. Jay knew it wasn't fair to ignore her but hearing her voice might break him, so he grabbed the bottle and placed it to his lips as he waited for the call to ring off. Another night or two and he would pull it together, but he needed to wallow tonight.

Once the call died, Jay stuck the bottle back between his legs and opened a message to her. However, he didn't get further than 'hey' before his phone let him know of the voicemail she had left him. Jay wasn't sure what to expect so he stopped typing and hit play on the recording.

" _Hey, Vanessa said you weren't looking so hot and you headed out pretty quickly. Call me okay, I just want to know you're alright."_

Jay pinched his brow as he replayed the message in his head. He could hear the annoyance mixed with concern and he didn't blame her. Part of him wanted to tell her to come over, to hold her close and just have her with him, but he couldn't risk it. He knew how he got when the nightmares really kicked in. They always seemed so real and he might hurt her if she was with him. He just had to get rid of them first, then he could be with her again.

A twinge of pain from his head brought Jay out of his thoughts enough to grab the bottle. He started drinking from it again as he reopened his message to Hailey. He knew what he had to do.

_I'm okay, still recovering from this flu. I'm just gonna head to bed and sleep it off. You should enjoy Molly's with the others, you did great today. I'll see you tomorrow._

He sent the message before chucking his phone on the table and then lying down on the couch. The images came back in full force as he spotted the service from Mike's funeral on the table.

Jay let out a sob as he pulled a cushion closer to him. It wasn't fair. He and Mike had gotten out, they had both saved each other over there but then Mike had gone back in and now he was dead. So who was next? Mouse? Or would it be someone closer to home? What if it was Hailey?

He did his best to push the thoughts away as he felt the tears roll down his face. He just wanted all of this to be over or to forget any of it had ever happened. He didn't know how to do the former, but he certainly knew what to do for the latter. With the decision clear in his mind, he placed the bottle back to his lips and drank. It still burned, but the sensation lessened as he kept drinking, every sip taking away a small piece of the pain.

All he had to do was keep going until there was nothing left, but after a few minutes he had to stop as the emotions overcame him and he started to cry again. Not the few tears that had fallen earlier, but body wrenching sobs of grief as everything hit him at once.

Jay found himself curling up into a ball on the couch as he dropped the bottle to the floor. He could have saved them. He should have saved them. That was his job. But he hadn't.

He had failed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's not looking good, but I promise it will get better soon. Part two of second chances will be up next and will follow straight on from this one. Hope you enjoyed.


	15. Second Chances (part 2)

Hailey rolled her neck as she walked out of the locker room; she was done for the day. The takedown had gone to plan, they'd managed to pick up the whole crew, and all that was left was some paperwork but that could wait until tomorrow. Adam had mentioned something about a team celebration earlier, so she wasn't surprised that he called out her name and pointed to her when she walked into the bullpen.

"Molly's?"

"Uh, maybe," she said as she scanned the room, trying to locate Jay. She would go for one if he really wanted to, but first she was going to suggest that the two of them spend the evening alone. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but something seemed off with him. Maybe he was still feeling ill, but there was this voice which kept gnawing away at her every time she caught sight of him, the one which told her something else was going on.

"He passed on the drinks," Vanessa said, keeping her voice low as she came to stand next to Hailey. "He wasn't looking that good to be honest."

Hailey gave a nod, casting her eyes to Jay's desk as the rest of the team headed out. The voice was back again, reminding her of her previous concerns.

"Rojas, get a move on," Kevin called out.

"Yeah, yeah, give me a minute," Vanessa yelled back as Hailey walked over to her desk and picked up her coat. She could hear Vanessa following her so she wasn't surprised to see her when she turned back to face the room. "I'll tell them you're not coming. They'll understand."

"Thanks." She pulled on her coat, forcing a smile on her face. "Go have fun, I'll see you tomorrow."

There was a slight hesitation from Vanessa but in the end she headed out after the rest of the team. Hailey took a moment to herself, looking around the room, letting her mind formulate a plan, before spotting the empty mug on her desk from earlier. On instinct she picked it up and headed to the breakroom as she pulled out her phone. She knew what she had to do.

She placed the phone to her ear as she walked towards the sink and set the mug down in it. The ringing sounds finally ended, but instead of Jay she got his voicemail. She wished she was surprised but she wasn't, so she sent him a text to ask where he was before deciding to call once more in the hopes that he might take the hint that he needed to talk to her.

He didn't. Though this time when she got his voicemail, she didn't hang up. Instead she waited for the tone and then started speaking.

"Hey, Vanessa said you weren't looking so hot and you headed out pretty quickly. Call me okay, I just want to know you're alright."

He wasn't, she was certain of that now. She had seen sick Jay before and he hadn't acted like this. In fact, she wasn't sure she had ever seen him act like this before. It worried her and she found herself suddenly second guessing every decision she had made over the past week until she managed to get a rational thought in. There was nothing she could do to change the past, but she could act now.

With the thought in mind, she went to put her phone away, but Jay's name suddenly lit up the screen. He wasn't calling her, but he had sent a message.

_I'm okay, just feeling really tired from this flu. I'm gonna head to bed and sleep it off. You should enjoy Molly's with the others. I'll see you tomorrow._

Hailey reread the words a few times as she leant back against the kitchen counter. Had this been the first day he was ill, she probably would have gone along with his suggestion, but this was too much. He might be annoyed if she showed up unannounced, but she couldn't leave him alone again. If he really did just want to sleep, she would hang out while he did, but if there was something else going on, they were going to deal with it now.

With her mind made up, Hailey shoved the phone into her pocket and pushed herself off the counter before suddenly spotting Will walking towards her.

"Hey," she said, unable to hide her confusion at his presence as he came to a halt in the doorway. "You alright?"

"Uh, yeah," he said, not sounding the least bit convincing. "Is Jay about?"

"No, he left already. Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just wanted to see how he was doing, he isn't really answering my calls."

"Join the club," she muttered before deciding to elaborate. "He's being Jay I guess, thinks he can deal with everything himself, won't let anyone help."

There was a faint smile on Will's face. "Sounds like my brother."

"He's back at work though-"

"So he took time off?"

"Yeah, he took the whole contagious thing to heart, wouldn't even let me go round to his place," she explained, trying to ignore the doubtful voice in her head given Will's reaction.

"Contagious thing?"

"From the stomach flu he had," she said, already knowing what was coming next, but not wanting to believe it. "He said he'd spoken to you."

Will shook his head. "I haven't really spoken to him since last week, he said you guys were working a big case, that he would be undercover a lot of the time and wouldn't be able to talk."

Hailey shut her eyes for a moment. So either Jay had been ill and didn't want to get Will involved or he'd been lying to everyone. While part of her wanted to stay in denial, to believe Jay wouldn't do that, she had to know.

"What happened the night you and Jay went out last week?"

She was certain that was when it had started, whatever it was. She remembered Jay seeming distracted the day after, but she hadn't thought it was anything serious. She had planned to check on him that evening to be sure but then David had called and the day after Jay said he was ill, and she had no reason not to believe him.

"You mean the night that kid died?"

"What kid?" The realisation of what was going on suddenly seemed to hit Will, but Hailey didn't have time for him to process this now. "Will, what kid?"

"Uh, Ellie. She OD'ed on her mom's drugs. Jay…" But Hailey tuned out the rest as she pinched her brow.

There were so many thoughts floating around in her head and so many emotions she needed to get a hold of. She wanted to scream, to cry, to break something, but she didn't move a muscle. There would be time for her to deal with this later, but right now there was something more important.

"I need to find Jay," she said, already moving towards Will and the door.

"I'm coming with you."

Without another word, they hurried through the bullpen and down the stairs. They were almost at the door when Hailey heard her name being called. She was going to ignore it but after the third, significantly louder, call of her name, she turned back to face Platt.

"It's not a good time, Trudy. We-"

"You need to hear this."

The look on Platt's face along with her stern tone were enough to get Hailey moving over to her, Will trailing behind. Platt looked between the two of them as if trying to decipher what them being together meant before speaking.

"You remember the kids from the drug case a while back?" she asked after settling her eyes on Hailey. If Will hadn't just told her, the change in Platt's tone of voice would have been enough for Hailey to know that this was not good news.

"Yeah, I just heard about Ellie," she said, deciding to save Trudy the pain of having to break the news again.

"So Jay told you?"

Hailey tried to hide her reaction to the question as the voice in her head started up again. When had Platt told Jay? How long had she known? But then Hailey realised Platt was still staring at her and she didn't want to get into a further discussion with the Sargent.

"Uh yeah," she muttered, shooting a look at Will to tell him to keep quiet. "We gotta go."

Without giving Platt a chance to say another word, she turned on her heels and walked out of the station. She didn't know what state Jay was in right now and she didn't want to get anyone else involved until she knew what she was dealing with. Her and Will would be enough for now.

Neither of them spoke on the ride over to Jay's, both of them processing what had happened. Hailey couldn't help but think back to all of her interactions with Jay over the past week with her newfound knowledge. She knew something was up, but she had no idea it was this serious, and she had conflicting emotions over it. Part of her wanted to yell at him for shutting her out and going through it alone, part of her just wanted to hold him tight and tell him it would be okay, but the most prevailing thought, the one that occupied her mind for most of the drive, was the fear.

She had seen Jay spiral before, after Erin and after his father, but something about this felt different.

"He still isn't answering," Will said, holding the phone to his ear again as Hailey parked up.

Will had taken to calling Jay over the past few minutes, leaving some messages, but not getting through.

"Looks like he's here." She pointed to Jay's truck as they headed over to the building.

She didn't care if Jay wanted them here or not. Things had gone too far for her liking, and based on Will's reactions so far, he seemed to be in the same boat. No matter what else happened, they were going to talk. Jay could yell or cry or anything, but she was done with the lies.

"You gonna break the door down or we just hoping he answers?" Will asked as they walked down the corridor to Jay's apartment.

Hailey pulled the key out of her pocket and slid it into the lock without looking back at Will. "Plan c."

Maybe they should have knocked, but she was done with being shut out, and she didn't want to waste any more time.

"Jay," she called out as soon as she was inside.

She ignored the mess, the coats and shoes scattered around the floor, as she headed further into Jay's apartment before finally finding him face down on the couch. Without a second thought she rushed over to him, calling out his name again.

"Jay." She shook his arm, trying to get a response. "Jay, talk to me."

"Hailey." Will's hand was on her shoulder as he moved her to the side so he could get closer to his brother. "Jay, can you hear me?"

Hailey took a step back, almost tripping over various items, so Will could do his thing. She wasn't sure what she was waiting for but when Jay mumbled something incoherent, she let out a sigh of relief. She closed her eyes for a moment, collecting herself, before opening them again to find Will in front of her.

"Well he's drunk," Will said, holding up one of the empty bottles she had almost tripped on.

"Jesus," she muttered as she took in the rest of the room.

It reminded her of a frat house, not the Jay she knew. There were clothes, bottles, and rubbish all over the place.

"He'll be fine. I mean I'll keep an eye on him, but our best bet is to let him sleep this off," Will said, setting the bottle down on the coffee table.

"Yeah," she muttered as she took in the room again before going with her gut.

She headed for the kitchen and opened up the cupboard under the sink to find what she was after. The footsteps behind her weren't really a surprise, but she waited until she had torn off a trash bag and replaced the roll before she stood back up and faced Will.

"You okay?" he asked.

"No." She was not in any way okay with this situation and what it meant. She needed time to think it over, to figure out what to do, but she wasn't ready for that yet. For now she just wanted to focus on something simpler. "May as well do something useful."

There was a sympathetic look on Will's face as Hailey tried to hide how much the whole thing was affecting her. "I can help."

"You don't have to."

"I want to," he said, looking somewhat ashamed. "I've not seen him like this before. I mean after Erin and Dad he wasn't in the best place but not like this."

"Yeah." He had been self-destructive on both of those occasions, but she wasn't sure either had gotten to this stage, unless he'd managed to hide it from her. There were times it had likely gotten this far though. She still remembered the conversation he'd had with Camila about when he'd returned from overseas. "How was he when he got home from his tours?"

Will half shrugged and half shook his head. "I wasn't really around then. Have you ever seen him like this?"

"Not this bad."

She gave Will a moment in case he wanted to say anything more, but he didn't, so she moved back into the living room and started collecting up all the rubbish and bottles. Jay was still passed out, so she didn't bother trying to be quiet. The light sleeping didn't appear to affect him at this point in time which she guessed was a good thing.

It took a while, Hailey wasn't sure how long she spent gathering up bottles, chucking away rubbish, and tidying away clothes and other items Jay hadn't bothered to return to their usual home, but Jay still wasn't awake by the time she dumped her trash bag by the door. She took a quick look at the area, it was more like she was accustomed to from Jay, before heading over to the kitchen to find Will staring at a piece of paper.

They hadn't really spoken throughout, both working through it in their own way, but given Will's intense focus, she was curious.

"You alright?"

Will looked exhausted when he finally turned to her and handed her the piece of paper. It took Hailey a couple of seconds to comprehend what she was reading and what it meant. The name didn't ring a bell, but the date explained why she had spotted Jay's army suit dumped in the corner of his room.

"I take it you didn't know about this," she said as she continued reading.

"No. You?"

She shook her head before meeting Will's eyes. He seemed to be taking it as personally as she was.

"I thought he'd spoken to you."

"What?"

"The night Ellie died, I told him I'd wait until you got here before I left, but he told me to go. I'd just pulled a double shift and he said he'd texted you to come over once you were finished with Rojas. I thought-" He trailed off and shook his head. "And then he barely responded to my messages, but he said he was busy with a case and I figured if it was serious you would call me. I should have checked sooner, I-"

"It's not on you." Will had tried to do the right thing but Jay had lied to him. She had been closer to Jay, she had seen something wasn't right, but she hadn't pressed the issue. Everything with David and the case had kept her so busy that she hadn't realised what was going on. She should have seen it though, she-

"Hey," Will said, cutting off her thoughts, as he took a step forward and pulled her into a hug. "It's not on you either."

She gave a nod and hugged him back even if she didn't quite believe him. She had a feeling Will needed this, and maybe she did too. It wasn't every day that you found out the person you trusted the most had spent the past week lying to you and drinking themselves into oblivion every day and night.

"You know he is completely in love with you," Will said when he pulled back. "I mean clearly he's managed to top his normal levels of stupidity but that doesn't change the way he feels about you."

He was just trying to help, but she wasn't ready. "Will-"

"I figured I should say something in his defence because if you're feeling like I am right now…" He stopped himself, letting out a breath before offering her a small smile. "I don't want him to lose out on the best thing that's ever happened to him because he made a bad decision."

It was more than one, but Hailey got what he was saying. "I'm not going anywhere."

* * *

Hailey was sat on the couch, not really paying attention to the TV, when she first felt Jay stir. Will had been called in for an emergency several hours ago, but she had promised to keep an eye on Jay and call him if she needed. Once he had gone, she had done one more sweep of Jay's apartment to tidy it up before ending up on the couch next to him. Initially she was just going to sit there, but then she felt herself wanting to be closer to him, so she had carefully lifted his head and the pillow it was resting on before setting it down on her lap. He hadn't seemed to notice at the time but she was sure his whole body had relaxed a little when she'd run her hand through his hair.

This time felt different though. Jay moved around more than he had before and when she looked down, she saw him blink his eyes open. It seemed to take him a while to work out what was going on, but after looking around the room, he finally tilted his head towards her and met her eyes.

"Hey," she said, deciding to break the silence.

Jay stared at her for a few seconds, clearly still trying to piece together what her being here meant, before pushing himself into a sitting position. Given the way his body moved, Hailey knew he was still drunk, which meant she had no idea how he was going to react to the current situation. In all fairness she had no idea what to do herself. She had spent the past few hours running through possible scenarios, coming up with what to say, but for some reason she could do little more than watch him right now.

He hunched over slightly; Hailey wasn't sure if he was going to throw up or he was just processing, but she found herself biting her tongue. She didn't want to start the conversation they needed to have until he was sober, which meant her best course of action was to get him to bed. She had no idea how with it he was or how cooperative he would be, but when his eyes landed on Mike's service, which she had left on the coffee table, and she saw his body tense, she knew he understood the situation.

Hailey kept her eyes on him as he stared at the service before looking around the rest of the room, and then finally at her. "You cleaned up."

"Yeah," she said, holding his gaze. "Will helped."

The realisation of what that meant seemed to dawn on Jay, but Hailey found herself speaking again to make it crystal clear. "So I know about Ellie, and I know about Mike too. What I don't know is why you didn't tell me."

She hadn't planned to get into it straight away, but she couldn't help it. All of these emotions and thoughts had suddenly flooded her brain and the truth was, she felt betrayed. So while she knew it wasn't going to be easy for Jay to answer, and while it pained her to keep quiet, she waited patiently for him. Yet in the end, after almost a minute, all she got was a shrug and she couldn't stop herself.

"No, not good enough," she said, trying to stop the waver in her voice. "We're supposed to be a team and no matter what happens, no matter how bad it gets, you're supposed to talk to me. You're supposed to tell me these things, but instead you drank, and you lied, and-"

"Hailey."

She could feel the tears in her eyes as he looked at her. He seemed defeated, but she held out hope that he had something more to say. Yet after another minute, when she realised he wasn't going to continue, she stood up.

"I can't do this now."

"What?" he asked, suddenly sounding more alert.

"Come on," she said, motioning for him to get up. There was no point trying to do anything more now. "We'll talk about it when you're sober."

It took him a few moments before he complied, his body swaying slightly as he stood. Instinctively Hailey wrapped her arm around his waist and directed him to his bedroom. They didn't speak on the short journey but Jay wrapped his arm around her, holding onto her tightly as they walked. She helped him sit on his side of the bed and went to move away before feeling Jay grab her hand.

"You leaving?" he asked.

His voice sounded so broken that she had to bite her tongue for a moment so she could keep it together in front of him.

"No." She gave his hand a gentle squeeze, seeing some of the fear vanish. "I'm not going anywhere. But right now, I need you to sleep this off."

He gave a nod and let go of her hand before pulling up his shirt. It wasn't graceful but he managed it, so Hailey walked out of the room to get him a glass of water and turn off all the lights. When she returned, he was sat in bed, eyes open and watching her. She moved over and handed him the glass.

"You should drink this."

He took it with a quiet thanks before Hailey moved away and started getting ready for bed. As much as she wanted to say something more, it was best left until the morning or later today, she honestly didn't want to look at the time right now.

"You good?" she asked once she was ready.

Jay gave a nod and placed the empty glass down on the bedside table. Hailey didn't say anything, instead she flicked off the light and moved over to her side of the bed. Once she had climbed in, she lay down on her back and closed her eyes before feeling the movement next to her. She wasn't sure what she expected to happen but a moment later she felt Jay take her hand.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice not much more than a whisper. "I just…a lot happened…"

Hailey took a few deep breaths and swallowed away the lump that had formed in her throat before opening her eyes and rolling onto her side to come face to face with Jay. He had kept a small distance between their bodies, like he had before they were dating, but he was still gripping her hand tightly.

"I know." She reached out, cupping his cheek in her hand. "Just promise me we'll talk about this properly. No more disappearing acts, no more excuses."

She felt him lean into her touch before nodding slightly. "I promise."

"Good." She sniffed, hoping he hadn't noticed the few tears which had escaped. "Let's get some sleep, yeah?"

"Yeah." Jay shifted again, inching closer but still leaving a gap between them.

Hailey knew what he wanted, what he seemed too afraid to initiate, yet she found herself hesitating. Part of her was still furious at him, but the other part just wanted to make things better for him. In the end she went with her gut; there would be time to voice her frustrations later, to let him know how upset she was that he had lied to her, but for now Jay just needed to know that she was here for him. He had been dealing with the grief and guilt by himself for too long.

"Come here," she whispered, tugging him closer until she could get her arms around him.

He did so immediately, pulling her tightly against him and letting out a shaky breath. Hailey could feel his rapid heartbeat against her chest as he buried his head in her hair.

"We're gonna get through this," she told him, gently running her hand along his back in an attempt to calm him. "Partners, remember? Good or bad."

She was sure she felt his tears against her neck but she didn't say a word, she just continued to hold him, trying to work out if she should say anything else until she heard his voice. "Always."

It might not have been the talk they needed to have but it was enough for now. Hailey kept on with her soothing movements until she felt Jay's breathing even out. She was worried he wouldn't be able to sleep but it seemed the alcohol had solved that problem.

Once she was sure he was asleep, she did her best to follow his lead, but it didn't come easily. Instead she found her mind running through the possible scenarios again. There was so much she wanted to say, but mostly she just wanted to understand what he had been thinking all this time and why he hadn't reached out to her or trusted her enough to ask for help.

The thoughts kept her preoccupied for far longer than she would have liked, but eventually she managed to drift off. She wasn't sure how long she got before she was awoken by some unexpected noises. It took her a moment to work out what was happening but then she heard Jay being sick.

She opened her eyes and squinted at the light coming from the bathroom, before deciding to check the time. As she pulled her phone in front of her, she saw it wasn't much past 5am, causing her to let out a groan. There wasn't enough time to sort things out properly before work, and she couldn't wait another day.

Acting on instinct, and some emotions left over from before, she sent a message to Voight to ask for the day off for her and Jay. She didn't want to go into the details, but she had a feeling he might ask for them. Yet before she had a chance to figure out what she would say if he asked, she had a response from him, saying it was fine. She hadn't expected it to be that easy or that quick, but as she heard the sounds of Jay vomiting again, she decided not to question it.

She got up, grabbed the glass from Jay's bedside table, and headed to the kitchen to fill it up. She heard the toilet flush and the tap running as she walked back before bumping into Jay as he exited the bathroom. He looked slightly embarrassed as she handed him the glass, but he still took it with a thanks.

"You good?"

He gave a nod. "Think it helped."

Hailey watched him drink some of the water before he gestured for them to head back to the bedroom. She assumed that meant he was done with being sick, so she followed him into the room and climbed back into bed with the full intention of getting some more sleep before realising she needed to fil him in on her earlier message.

"I asked Voight to give us the day off and he said it was fine." There was a slight nervousness on Jay's face so she continued. "I didn't tell him anything, guess he's in a good mood or something, so can you turn your alarm off?"

"Yeah."

Hailey managed a small smile before closing her eyes and falling back to sleep. She wasn't sure how long she got this time, but she felt far more rested the second time she woke up. There were no sounds of Jay throwing up, instead just the rhythmic beating of his heart as she felt one of his hands gently running through her hair. She took a few moments to enjoy it, realising that he must have pulled her into his arms after she fell back to sleep because there had definitely been a pillow under her head when she had closed her eyes earlier, whereas now it was Jay's bare chest.

She had a feeling Jay knew she was awake as he placed a kiss to the top of her head, but she wasn't sure she was ready to talk yet. Instead she lightly ran her hand up his side and along his arm until she managed to catch hold of his hand. She intertwined their fingers and brought their hands into her line of vision before placing a kiss to the back of his. Jay squeezed her tighter against him in response, but still neither of them broke the silence.

They stayed that way for a while, Hailey wasn't sure how many minutes passed until she finally decided to tilt her head up. As much as she wanted to just stay as they were and forget about everything else, they needed to talk. Jay offered her a small smile, just watching her for a few moments before blowing out a breath as if readying himself for what was next.

"I couldn't stop myself," he said, his voice quiet but sincere. "I thought…I thought I could handle it."

"By drinking? By-"

"I know." He averted his gaze for a moment before focusing back on her. "I screwed up. I was going to tell you, the night you couldn't come over, I swear I was going to tell you but-"

He paused as she felt a tear escape; if David hadn't called her, this wouldn't have happened. She knew something was up that day, but she hadn't thought it was this serious, so she had chosen David over Jay.

"Hey, this isn't on you. I know you wouldn't have bailed without a good reason and I thought I'd be okay for another day, but then I got the email about Mike, and I just…the only thing I could think to do was what I used to do."

She got it. It was a series of unfortunate timings and that wasn't on either of them, but that only explained one night and the drinking to a certain extent. They had never really talked about it, but she knew it was one of his coping mechanisms when he got back from overseas, so she got it. And while she was glad he was explaining this to her, it wasn't the part that scared her.

"I understand why you did it; I understand why you drank that night and why you didn't tell me about Ellie that day or the night before," she said, seeing the relief on his face for a moment until she continued. "But that doesn't explain the rest of the week. Jay, you lied to Will, you lied to Voight…you lied to me…for days."

Jay tightened his hold on her with the arm he had wrapped around her as she tried desperately to keep the tears at bay. This was the bit that terrified her, his ability to lie to them, to her, and keep such a big thing hidden.

He took a few moments, focusing on their intertwined hands resting on his chest, before meeting her eyes again, the hint of a smile on his face. "Because I'm an idiot."

She shook her head. "I'm going to need more than that. Jay, this is serious."

"Yeah," he muttered, rubbing his thumb over hers. "I don't know what to say."

"Then talk me through it, one step at a time."

It took a minute for him to start talking but then he did exactly as she asked. He told her what Devin had screamed at him the night Ellie had died. He told her how he had gotten blackout drunk the night he found out about Mike and that he had called in sick because he'd been throwing up from the alcohol. He told her how he had planned to clear his head that day but then the nightmares had started again, the ones which seemed so real he feared he would hurt her if she was with him, so he had started drinking again while telling everyone that he was ill.

Hailey listened the whole time, encouraging him to continue when he seemed like he wanted to stop because at this point she needed to know the truth about everything. So he continued, telling her about how he had lied to Will too because he couldn't face anyone seeing him like this. And then how he had gone to Mike's funeral and drunk until he passed out because it was the only way he didn't get the nightmares.

He told her about his trips to the club to distract himself, and how he'd wanted to get back to normal the day he came in to work. She'd known how well that had gone but he had explained what had happened that night. How he hadn't drunk anything and he'd had a nightmare so he'd gone to get some water before finding the picture from Devin on her fridge.

As soon as he told her, Hailey suddenly understood his disappearing act. What she hadn't expected was what he told her next. His trip back to the club to drink, and then the bartender who kissed him. She had seen the worry in his eyes as he told her it meant nothing, that he had pushed her away and left. Hailey couldn't find the words to let him know she believed him, but she nodded for him to continue. So he finished explaining what had happened yesterday before falling quiet.

It was a lot to comprehend, and again Hailey felt her head swimming with too many things. There was the anger at the bartender for coming on to him, and Jay for putting himself in such a situation. There was the disappointment in him for not reaching out to her, and then the sorrow at everything that he had been going through.

"Hey," Jay said after a while, breaking the silence that had fallen between them. She hadn't meant to leave him wondering for so long but it was a lot to take in. "I do trust you, you know, more than anyone else. I just…I screwed up but I don't want that to change anything between us. If there's anything I can do to prove it, I'll do it."

Hailey considered her words carefully as she pushed herself up so she could be face to face with him. Part of her considered telling him how badly he had hurt her, talking through it more, but given the way he was looking at her, it was clear he knew. He knew exactly why the lying and drinking bothered her so much, why it was one of the worst things he could do to her.

"Okay." Even though he had lied to her for the past week, she really did believe what he was telling her now, and there was one thing he could do to help them move on. "Make me a promise. No matter what happens in the future, no matter how bad it is or how much you want to protect me, you tell me the truth. Because that's what I signed up for; the good, the bad, I'm here for it all. So don't ever shut me out like that again, don't lie to me, don't drink away your problems and don't make decisions on my behalf when we should be making them together. You make me that promise, and we're good."

They held each other's gaze for a moment before Jay leant in and kissed her, a slow but slightly desperate kiss which only lasted for a few seconds. "I promise."

* * *

Hailey sat on the couch, pulling down the sleeves of the hoodie she had stolen from Jay's wardrobe as she mulled things over, when the sound of someone knocking on the door caught her attention. She wasn't sure if Jay was expecting anyone but since she could still hear the sounds of the shower, she got up and made her way over. It was probably Will coming back to check in, though she had texted him recently to update him on the situation.

"Sarge," she said once she'd opened the door to reveal him. "What are you doing here?"

"I spoke to Trudy." It was only four words, but it told her everything she needed to know, and she certainly wasn't surprised to see him here now. "He in?"

"Yeah," she said as she stepped aside.

She had no idea what Voight was planning to do or say, but she suddenly felt very protective of Jay. He had only just opened up to her, she couldn't risk him shutting down again, especially with Voight's tough love style.

"Look, Sarge-" But she stopped as he held up his hand.

"I just want to talk to him," he told her, seeming to read her concerns.

While part of her wanted to warn him about how bad things had been or ask him to be careful, she knew Voight cared about Jay. So in the end, she shut the door and led him down the hall, coming to a halt by the kitchen. "He's in the shower. Do you want a drink?"

"I'm good." Hailey bobbed her head and went to move but Voight's next question stopped her. "Did you know? About Ellie?"

She shook her head but took a moment before turning back to him. "I found out yesterday."

"And when did Jay find out?"

"A week ago."

The sound of the shower stopping caught Hailey's attention for a second as she wondered how Jay would react. When she turned back to Voight, he squeezed her arm, a sympathetic look on his face. "We'll get him through this."

"Yeah," she muttered as she led Voight into the living room.

Neither of them spoke as they took a seat on the couch. Both seemed content in their own thoughts until Jay's voice broke the silence.

"Hey, I was thinking-"

But he stopped as soon as he spotted Voight.

"We need to talk," Voight said as Jay glanced at her, silently asking if this was her doing, but she shook her head. "Jay."

"Sarge, I'm-"

"Jay, the next word out of your mouth better not be fine because I'm not stupid. And I'm done waiting for you to come to me so we're gonna deal with this now before things get any worse. Got it?"

Jay stayed where he was, his eyes locked with Voight, until he looked over to her. He was silently asking her opinion, like they used to do. Without another word, she got up and walked over to him.

"I'm gonna run home and grab some clothes while you guys talk." She leaned up and gave him a quick kiss, not caring that Voight was likely watching them. "I'll be back soon."

* * *

When she opened the door to Jay's flat, two hours after she had originally left, Hailey got a weird sense of déjà vu. It wasn't from yesterday though, but instead last week. The smells of cooking and sounds of music which greeted her weren't accompanied by the sound of her brother's singing, but she was sure she heard Jay swear.

After closing the door, she dropped her bag to the floor and moved over to the kitchen to find Jay leaning over a recipe book. She watched him for a moment, a small smile coming to her face as he furrowed his brow and flicked back and forth between the pages. A moment later he swore again before looking up and spotting her. The annoyance disappeared instantly as he crossed the floor and pulled her into a kiss.

"Well hi to you too," she said as she pulled back, keeping her arms around him. "Voight?"

"He's gone, but we're okay. I might have yelled a bit."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, he did too though so I guess we're even," he explained, pushing back some of the hair that had fallen in front of her eyes. "He wants me to talk to someone."

Hailey nodded; it was a good call. As much as she wanted to be the one Jay went to, she knew a professional would be able to help in ways she couldn't.

"I booked a session for tomorrow."

"That's great, Jay," she told him, leaning up to give him another kiss.

"Was wondering if you wanted to come with me? Not inside but um, to the place and we could get lunch after. Just spend some time together."

"Definitely. I'll clear it with Voight." Given everything going on, she couldn't imagine their boss would have a problem with it.

"No need. He won't let me back until next week, wants me to have a couple of sessions first, and he said he was giving you the same time off to make sure it happened."

"You okay with that?" She knew how much Jay appreciated what he called 'babysitting duty'.

"I'm okay with getting to spend more time with you," he said, guiding her lips back to his.

Hailey let herself go with it, leaning into him, before being distracted by the smell of whatever Jay had started cooking.

"So what's all this?" she asked as she pulled back and indicated to the ingredients strewn about the kitchen.

"This is me cooking you dinner."

She could tell from the look in his eyes that it was a part apology, part thank you dinner, and she would take it. Though she did have an idea.

"How about we make it together?" she asked as she walked over to the counter and focused on the recipe he had picked out.

"Sounds good."

She skimmed over it as Jay wrapped his arms around her from behind. "Well I'm glad you went for something so simple."

"Was trying to impress you," he confessed, causing her to turn around in his arms.

"Jay, you've already impressed me. You booking that session tomorrow, you talking to me, that's impressive."

There was a hint of a smile on his face as she held his gaze.

"But just imagine if I could cook you a gourmet meal as well?"

She let out a short laugh, happy to be seeing this side of him again. "Well then I'd never leave."

He chuckled along with her before stepping back. "Good to know."

They fell into an easy routine after that, cooking and joking together. Given how emotionally draining the day had been, Hailey knew they would both benefit from a night off. Sure, they had more to discuss, but they had covered enough for now, and they had the rest of the week off together to deal with anything else. So Hailey made sure they kept the conversation light as they cooked and ate dinner together. And once they were done, Jay suggested curling up with a movie which sounded perfect to her. Yet before they had a chance to move from the table, both of their phones started going.

"It's Will," Jay said as Hailey picked up her phone.

"Platt," she said. "You should talk to Will. He was really worried about you."

Jay nodded and got up as Hailey answered her own call. "Hey. How'd it go?"

"All set. 2pm Saturday."

Hailey nodded to herself. Platt had called her earlier today when she had been grabbing her clothes from home. She wanted to know how Jay was doing since neither of them were in today, and apparently it didn't take a genius to work out what that meant. She'd told Platt he was with Voight and that they were working through it, but he had taken the whole thing hard after Devin had blamed him. Platt had been very understanding, asking if there was anything she could do to help. Hailey had almost said no but then an idea had come to mind.

"That's uh, that's great thanks."

"You sound unsure," Trudy said as Hailey watched Jay walk up and down, still talking to Will.

"You think this is a good idea?"

She was on the fence about it; part of her thought it would help, but the other part was worried it would make everything worse.

"I do. Look I spoke to him for a couple of hours today, explained some things, and he wants to do it."

"Okay. I'll let Jay know," she said. "Thanks, Trudy."

"It's the least I can do. And you let me know if there's anything else. I don't want to have to break in any new detectives."

"Of course," she said before hanging up.

Jay was still busy talking with Will. He seemed to be smiling though so she got up and started cleaning up. By the time she was finished, she walked back into the living room to find Jay sat on the couch, flicking through the channels.

"Hey, all good?" she asked as she took a seat next to him.

"Yeah, you know Will can be really bossy sometimes," he said as he wrapped an arm around her, pulled her closer, and snapped a picture of them together before she had a chance to react.

"What?" she asked as Jay typed away at his phone.

"He wants proof you're here," he explained, "apparently that's the only way he won't come over."

"I could have just spoken to him or texted him."

"Yeah but I may also have wanted another picture of us," he confessed as he put his phone away and turned to face her. "You know we only have the one Rojas took at Molly's"

Hailey hadn't really thought about it before. Neither of them were picture people but she understood Jay's desire to have some more photos of the two of them together.

"Well we can work on that."

"Yeah, so what did Platt want?" Hailey didn't reply straight away, gaining a raised eyebrow from Jay. "Hailey?"

"She called me earlier, asking if there was anything she could do to help, and I had an idea. You don't have to do it, I just thought it might help, but there's no pressure either way."

"What is it?" he asked as she took his hand in hers.

"She spoke to Devin." In an instant the smile was gone from Jay's face. "He was understandably upset the last time you saw him, but he doesn't blame you, Jay. He wants to talk to you. We've agreed a time with his foster family for Saturday afternoon if you want to do it."

Jay was quiet for a while, so Hailey found herself continuing.

"I know it's hard after what he said to you, but he's just a kid and he's been through more than any kid should. So I think you should give him a second chance, get some closure for both of you. But if you don't want to, that's okay too. He's got a good foster family, Platt's checked them out thoroughly, so he'll be alright."

Still Jay was quiet, so Hailey waited patiently, letting him think it over. It took a while, but eventually he opened his mouth. "I'll do it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the last few chapters weren't the easiest, but hopefully this one made them worthwhile.


	16. Love

Jay took the last sip of his drink and placed the glass down on the table. The rest of the team were still talking animatedly about something, but he hadn't been paying much attention to them. Instead he found himself distracted by Hailey. They didn't generally show much affection towards each other when they were out with the team, preferring to keep those moments private, but something was different tonight. Tonight she was leaning against him and he had managed to slip his arm around her waist earlier.

"Right, Jay?" He had no idea what Kim was asking him to confirm. "Jay?"

"Huh?" He removed his eyes from Hailey and found the rest of the group staring at him.

"Yeah, he hasn't heard a word you just said," Adam explained, chuckling slightly. "Seems he was a little preoccupied."

"I was just-"

"Ignoring me because you were busy staring at your girlfriend." Kim feigned hurt, but he could see the smile playing on her lips. "You know this-"

"Ah leave him be," Kev chipped in as his hand landed on Jay's shoulder. "Man's just in love. Can't blame him for that."

"You can, but doubt he'd care," Adam said as Jay suddenly felt the air catch in his lungs.

"I think it's sweet," Vanessa said, a smirk on her face which indicated she wasn't about to help them out. "Who wouldn't want to be as happy as these two lovebirds? You guys should see them when we're at home-"

"Okay." Hailey cut her off as Jay tried to find some words to help, but they still wouldn't come. "Whose round is it?"

"I'll go," he managed to get out, not looking at anyone in particular and removing his arm from around Hailey.

A couple of the others mentioned going instead but he shook off their offers and headed over to the bar before they could stop him. There were a few people waiting to be served so he took up a free space and ran a hand over his face as he leant against the bar. He wasn't sure why, but he couldn't stop thinking about what everyone had been saying, especially Kevin. Sure the same thing had been implied by the others, but Kev had called it out to everyone, to Hailey.

"You buying me a drink?"

Jay looked up to find Will coming to a halt next to him as he tried to get a handle on his thoughts. "Sure."

After everything that had happened a month ago, after the way Will had found him and had been there for him since, Jay knew getting his brother a beer was the least he could do. It hadn't been easy, the past four weeks had contained some of the hardest days of his life; Ellie's funeral, talking to Devin, admitting that he needed help, and getting back into therapy, but he had gotten through it all because of the support from everyone around him. From Voight, from Will, from Hailey. They had all gone far beyond what he had thought he deserved, especially Hailey.

"You alright?" Will asked after a while, breaking Jay from his thoughts.

"Yeah. Yeah I'm-"

"Jay." The tone was reminiscent of the one from their first serious conversation about his drinking.

"It's nothing like that," he said before placing the drinks order. A round of beers and a coke, which gained him a nod from Will.

He hadn't made an announcement or explained why to anyone aside from Hailey, but for the past month he had avoided drinking any alcohol. It wasn't going to be a permanent thing, but it made it easier to work through everything else he had to deal with. Hailey had been the only person to really act on it, ordering non-alcoholic drinks herself on Jay's first night back out with the team. That was until Jay had told her that she didn't have to and brought her a beer while he stuck to coke. He appreciated the support, but he didn't want her to have to change because of him, and he had a handle on it. No one else had said anything about his change in habit, and he had never told them exactly what had happened during his time off, but Jay got the feeling they knew enough.

"So why do you look so conflicted?" Will asked, clearly not prepared to let it go.

Jay's initial reaction was to brush his brother off but then he remembered what his therapist had said about being more open with people. And this wasn't even a bad thing. If anything, it was one of the best things that had ever happened to him. He just needed to figure out what to do about it.

"I, uh." He moved a little closer to Will, keeping his voice low. "I wasn't really paying attention to the conversation earlier and the guys said some things."

"What kind of things?"

"That I was distracted because I love Hailey." Will looked highly amused by Jay's statement as the drinks were set down in front of them. "Why are you grinning like that?"

"Because you actually think this is news to the rest of us." Jay opened his mouth but failed to find the words. Yes, he and Hailey had been together a while, but he hadn't exactly told many people he loved them before. "What's the big deal? You do love her right?"

"Yeah of course."

"So?" Will prompted as he picked up his beer.

Jay scrubbed a hand over his face before huffing out a breath. "So I haven't actually told her yet."

Will paused midway to taking a sip as Jay continued to watch his brother. "Really?"

"Yeah, I know, I'm an idiot."

"Jay." He felt Will wrap an arm around his shoulder. "While that is true, it seems you're in luck because apparently Hailey is totally into it."

"Thanks, Will," he said as he picked up the glass of coke. "Helpful as ever."

"You want helpful?" Jay shrugged; he was happy to head back over to the team at this point. "Okay. Look, man, love isn't the words. I mean sure they are a part of it but you wanna know why the guys are teasing you over there? It's because of the way you two act around each other and what you've done for each other. Because that's what love is. It's breaking someone out of hospital and looking after them all night long. It's offering to leave your job so you can stay together. It's sticking by someone no matter how bad it gets. So yes, you two might not have told each other, but that doesn't matter because everything else you do screams it."

It took a moment for Jay to fully register the words. He wasn't sure what he had expected Will to say, but it hadn't been that.

"How was that for advice?"

Jay couldn't help but smile as Will nudged his shoulder. "It was pretty good. For once."

"Feel free to reward me with another beer later." Will grinned before tilting his bottle towards the team. "In the meantime though, let's not keep true love apart."

Jay shook his head as Will backed away, sometimes his brother was an ass. Part of him wanted to call him out, but in the end he kept his mouth shut as he picked up the tray of drinks. He would let Will have that comment because as much as it pained him to admit it, everything he had said before really had helped. Hailey knew how he felt about her, but the next time it felt right, he would make sure to tell her.

There was a round of thanks as he set the tray of drinks down on the table and retook his spot next to Hailey. They shared a quick look, a reassurance that they were both good, before Jay focused on the conversation. While he wasn't as worried about the potential comments he and Hailey might get, he didn't feel like having the attention on them again. So he listened as they discussed the latest Blackhawks game, throwing in his opinion every now and again, before feeling Hailey's hand taking hold of his under the table. He didn't give any indication of the move to the others, making sure he stayed involved in the conversation, but he started tracing gentle patterns on her skin with his thumb.

They continued on that way for a while longer, everyone keeping the topics light and fun. Jay even found himself laughing at a few of the anecdotes, but he knew he was starting to pay less and less attention to everyone else. He was trying his best, but his mind kept wondering to the woman next to him, to how he wanted to tell her he loved her. Should he try and make it special and romantic or should he just tell her? Should he do it tonight or wait for another time?

"Hey," Hailey whispered so only he could hear. "Wanna get out of here after this one?"

Jay was unable to hide the smile her question caused because that was exactly what he wanted to do. "Yeah, I'm ready whenever you are."

They stayed for another ten minutes, Hailey taking progressively larger sips of her drink whilst the others were talking. No one else commented on it but there was a little more teasing when Hailey announced they were leaving. It was harmless, and no one really tried to stop them, but still Jay didn't respond to it with anything more than a wave goodnight.

Once they were outside, and away from the prying eyes of everyone else, Jay wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. He spotted the smile on her face as she wrapped an arm around his waist and leaned into him.

"So I had an idea earlier," she said.

"Sounds dangerous."

She shook her head, biting her lip, but unable to remove the grin from her face. "You might want to shut up until you hear me out or you could miss out on the best experience of your life."

Jay chuckled slightly and indicated for her to continue. Being with her was already proving to be the best experience of his life as far as he was concerned but he was curious as to where this was going.

"Okay, so next month we both have a couple of days off and I was thinking it might be fun to head up to your cabin. You know, get away from everything else for a bit, just the two of us?" They had talked about the cabin before but nothing seriously. "I mean only if you want to."

"Sounds perfect."

The proud smile was back on her face, the one he was sure only he got to see, as they neared the truck.

"Good." Hailey dropped her arm from around him and stepped out of his grasp, heading towards the passenger's side. "I'll get it booked in."

Jay knew he was supposed to go around to the other side and get in the truck, but instead he found himself watching her for a moment longer. She pushed back some of the hair which had been blown out of place by the wind, still talking about their future getaway, but Jay wasn't really listening anymore. And then before he could think it through, he found himself following her.

He caught up to her as she reached out to open the door, catching her hand as it landed on the handle. She turned back to face him, quirking an eyebrow to ask what he was up to and why he was here. His answer was to take a step closer and press his lips to hers. Hailey seemed a little surprised by the move, but Jay soon felt her hands on him as she kissed him back.

"You know, as fun as putting on a show for everyone else is," Hailey started as she pulled back and rested her hands on his shoulders. "We can have a lot more fun once we get to yours."

"Oh, we will," he said gaining a laugh from her.

She gave him a quick kiss before attempting to move, but Jay kept his arms around her as he nudged her back against the truck. "Jay."

She was using the tone he was sure only he got to hear. This cross between a warning and daring him to continue. And he had already made up his mind to continue because he didn't want to wait any longer.

"You know I love you right?"

He held his breath for a moment until he saw the grin emerge on her face. "Yeah."

He felt himself mirroring her expression as he kept his eyes fixed on hers before hearing the honk of a horn behind them. They both chanced a look at the cars on the street, one having just cut the other up, before turning back to face each other, the reality of where they were kicking back in.

"That probably wasn't the most romantic way to tell you."

Hailey chuckled. "Probably not. Did it have anything to do with what they were saying in there?"

"No. I mean maybe. A bit," he said, shaking his head to try and get his thoughts in order. "I just…I realised that I hadn't told you and I decided that as soon as it felt right I was going to tell you."

"And when you pressed me up against the truck you realised that was the perfect moment?"

She was teasing him, and while part of him wanted to play along, he wanted to make something else clear. "Not perfect, but I realised that I didn't want to wait any longer to tell you something I should have told you a long time ago. After everything we've been through, after everything you've done for me recently, I need you to know how much you mean to me because you really are the best thing that's ever happened to me. So, Hailey Upton, I am completely and utterly in love with you."

They held each other's gaze for a few moments, still in a tight embrace, but then Jay felt Hailey's arm moving and a second later her hand was cupping his cheek. "Well that's good to hear because I also happen to be completely and utterly in love with you, Jay Halstead."

Jay wasn't sure he had ever felt as happy in his life as he closed the small gap between them and pushed his lips back to hers. For someone who had been worried about anyone seeing them before, Hailey suddenly didn't seem so concerned about what they were up to in public. If anything, Jay thought he might need to be the one to break away and get them in the truck but then they heard the familiar voice.

"Oh geez, will you two go and get a room already!" Adam yelled out.

"Preferably the one at Jay's," Rojas followed up. "Some of us have an early morning tomorrow."

They broke a part and Hailey hid her head on his shoulder as Jay looked over to see the smug grins on their friend's faces. He just waved at them before pulling back from Hailey and opening the door for her. She also offered their friends a wave before she climbed in as Jay hurried round to the other side.

"So my place?" he asked.

"Yeah."

* * *

"Morning."

Jay barely had time to register the word before he felt Hailey's lips on his shoulder. He rubbed at his eyes, a smile coming to his face as Hailey kissed her way up his neck. He was about to say something but once he realised how close she was, he dipped his head and captured her lips with his own. He could feel her smiling into the kiss as her hand moved across his chest, her nails lightly grazing his skin and causing thoughts of the night before to resurface. They had both gotten quite worked up after he'd pinned her against the truck outside of Molly's last night, so it wasn't really a surprise that they hadn't been able to keep their hands off each other as soon as they arrived at his flat, though he was still surprised about how good it had been. Sex was something they were stupidly compatible for, and it had always been amazing, but it turned out that adding "I love you' into the mix took things to a whole new level. And it wasn't just how he had reacted to her saying it, Jay had gained some fun reactions out of Hailey throughout the evening as he'd dropped the three words in every now and again.

"So last night was fun," she muttered against him as he rolled onto his side and got his arm around her properly.

"Top two I'd say." It was probably the best if he was being objective, but he had such a fond recollection of the first time they had been together that he couldn't bring himself to choose between them officially.

"Top two hey," she said, her hand moving slowly down his chest. "So what do we have to do to take the top spot?"

Jay couldn't help but chuckle. "I don't know, guess we'll just have to keep trying."

"Hmm, guess we will," she said as she leant in to kiss him again.

Yet before they had a chance to get much further, the sound of Hailey's phone rang out from the other room. They both paused for a second and Hailey made a half-hearted attempt to pull away, but Jay held onto her, keeping her body pressed against his.

"Leave it."

"Might be important," she muttered, gently pulling back. "Just let me check."

He let out a sigh as he released her and rolled onto his back. She was right, it could be something, but that didn't mean he had to like the interruption. This was supposed to be their day off; it was supposed to be a day which allowed them to stay in bed and not worry about the outside world. But now she was walking out of the room to answer a call which could potentially ruin it. The only plus side was the fact that she hadn't bothered to put any clothes on yet, which meant they might be able to continue after she'd checked.

"Okay, where the hell did you chuck my jeans last night?" Jay felt the tug of his lips at her words. He couldn't remember the details, only how quickly they had started removing each other's clothes once they'd made it inside. "Seriously, Jay."

Hailey made a few more comments about his ability to hide her clothes as Jay propped himself up, deciding he should go and help her. However, before he managed to get out of bed, his phone started ringing. Unlike Hailey's which had been lost somewhere on the way to bed, his was right next to him.

"Hey, Will," he answered as he settled back against the headrest. "What's up?"

"Hey, can I talk to Hailey? She's with you right?"

"Uh yeah." He guessed he was still waking up as it took him a moment to process what Will was saying. "You could have just called her."

"I tried; she didn't pick up."

"Right." That explained her mystery caller. "Yeah, we uh, misplaced her phone."

"I don't want to know. So-"

"She's right here," he said as Hailey walked back into the room with a questioning look. "Will wants to talk to you."

"I see that," she said, holding up her phone with the notifications of the previous missed call, before moving over to the bed and taking a seat next to him. "Hey, Will. What's up?"

Jay knew that given the urgency to track her down, it was unlikely to be nothing, but part of him was still hoping it would be so they could get back to what they had been up to before.

"Oh yeah, I know her. What's she done now?"

The tone of voice was all Jay needed to know that the mood from before was completely gone. And while he wasn't completely sure what was going on, he could tell that although Hailey was slightly frustrated, it was nothing too serious.

"Okay, yeah. I can drop by in a bit and help straighten things out."

Jay tuned out after that, dropping his head in defeat. So much for spending most of the day off together like they had planned. It was probably stupid but he just knew how this was likely to go. Hailey would go and deal with whatever this situation was and then she was doing something with Rojas later, which was completely fine, he liked doing his own things too, but when her and Rojas were together, she normally stayed at her place after which meant he wouldn't get to see her until tomorrow.

"Yeah, I guess, put her on." Hailey shot him an apologetic look before elaborating. "My CI got mixed up in something."

"It's fine," he told her as he placed a kiss to her head. "I'll go make us some breakfast."

"You're amazing."

"Remember that later." He winked at her as he got out of bed and chucked on a pair of sweats.

They hadn't really eaten last night, and he had a feeling Hailey's call could take a while, so it seemed like the best option. Plus, if he played his cards right, it could turn into breakfast in bed and then back to what their original morning had looked like.

Once he got to the fridge, Jay had a quick look around the items available before deciding to do something quick and filling. Yet after he had grabbed the bacon and bread, he spotted the cookbook he had been using a little more frequently and a memory from a month ago came to mind. It was a memory from when he had been cooking her dinner to say sorry for what he'd done; for the drinking, for the lying, for shutting her out. It had been such a hard day, he had been so sure she was going to leave him, just like everyone else did, but she had stayed. Despite how much of a mess he was, despite how much he had screwed up, she had stayed, and it had made things so much better. But that wasn't the part he wanted to focus on. It was the part when she had caught him trying to impress her, when he had finally heard her laugh again, when she had made an offhanded comment that had stuck with him.

With the memory clear in his mind, Jay opened the cookbook and flicked through the pages. It took him a few minutes to select something which he had the ingredients for, but he was soon completely focused on the task at hand. He could hear Hailey's voice throughout, talking to her CI, though he had no idea what she was saying until half an hour later when she was suddenly a lot closer to him.

"Sorry that took so- what's going on here?"

"Cooking breakfast," he told her, glancing over his shoulder to find her stood at the entrance to the kitchen wearing one of his t-shirts. "Since we missed dinner last night, thought this would make up for it."

Hailey was quiet for a few moments, but then Jay felt her arms snake around his waist from behind and her lips press a kiss to his shoulder. "Well this looks incredible. You know if you keep this up, I'll end up making you cook every meal?"

"I'm sure we can work out a payment system."

Hailey laughed as she unwrapped herself from him and moved over to the coffee machine. "Oh yeah? What sort of repayment system did you have in mind?"

She was flirting with him, getting them back into the same mood that they had been pulled away from earlier. Yet as much as Jay wanted to continue down this road, he had something more important on his mind. He guessed Hailey saw it too because the playful smirk disappeared as he turned to face her properly.

"You stay."

She furrowed her brow as Jay realised he needed to explain it better. And while part of him wasn't sure it was the right time, his declaration of love yesterday hadn't exactly been perfect, but he had learnt his lesson about waiting and he knew he didn't want to wait any longer.

"You said before that if I could cook gourmet meals, you would never leave. And I know we already spend most nights together, but I don't want most nights, I want all of them. The nights when you're working late or you're out with friends, I want to be the one you come home to, Hailey," he said, seeing the growing smile on her face. "I want us to move in together."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, I don't care if it's my place or yours, or even somewhere new. As long as you're there I'm happy."

She bit her lip for a second before letting the mischievous grin he had come to love take over. "Even if we don't have a giant flatscreen?"

"I don't even know why you'd suggest something like that," he said as he closed the gap between them and placed his hands on her hips. "You love it just as much as I do."

She laughed as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Now I'm not sure that's true. But I guess we can find a place for it."

"Really?"

"Yeah, let's do it. Let's move in together."

Jay was beaming as he leaned in and kissed her. It was just like Will had told him last night. Love wasn't the words, it was everything else. It was the way Hailey was there for him, the way she never gave up on him. It was her laugh and smile, and the looks that only he got to see. That was love, and it was everything he had ever wanted. Though he did quite enjoy hearing her say it too.

"Hey." He nudged her nose with his own as he broke away from their kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's the end of this story, thought this was a fun prompt to finish with. The whole thing certainly took longer than I originally planned so thanks for sticking with me through it. Hope you enjoyed reading them all!


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